Large-scale investigation of white matter structural differences in bilingual and monolingual children: An adolescent brain cognitive development data study.

Emerging research has provided valuable insights into the structural characteristics of the bilingual brain from studies of bilingual adults; however, there is a dearth of evidence examining brain structural alterations in childhood associated with the bilingual experience. This study examined the associations between bilingualism and white matter organization in bilingual children compared to monolingual peers leveraging the large-scale data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study. Then, 446 bilingual children (ages 9-10) were identified from the participants in the ABCD data and rigorously matched to a group of 446 monolingual peers. Multiple regression models for selected language and cognitive control white matter pathways were used to compare white matter fractional anisotropy (FA) values between bilinguals and monolinguals, controlling for demographic and environmental factors as covariates in the models. Results revealed significantly lower FA values in bilinguals compared to monolinguals across established dorsal and ventral language network pathways bilaterally (i.e., the superior longitudinal fasciculus and inferior frontal-occipital fasciculus) and right-hemispheric pathways in areas related to cognitive control and short-term memory (i.e., cingulum and parahippocampal cingulum). In contrast to the enhanced FA values observed in adult bilinguals relative to monolinguals, our findings of lower FA in bilingual children relative to monolinguals may suggest a protracted development of white matter pathways associated with language and cognitive control resulting from dual language learning in childhood. Further, these findings underscore the need for large-scale longitudinal investigation of white matter development in bilingual children to understand neuroplasticity associated with the bilingual experience during this period of heightened language learning.

Examining Shared Reading and White Matter Organization in Kindergarten in Relation to Subsequent Language and Reading Abilities: A Longitudinal Investigation.

Parent-child language interaction in early childhood carries long-term implications for children's language and reading development. Conversational interaction, in particular, has been linked to white matter organization of neural pathways critical for language and reading. However, shared book reading serves an important role for language interaction as it exposes children to sophisticated vocabulary and syntax. Despite this, it remains unclear whether shared reading also relates to white matter characteristics subserving language and reading development. If so, to what extent do these environmentally associated changes in white matter organization relate to subsequent reading outcomes? This longitudinal study examined shared reading and white matter organization in kindergarten in relation to subsequent language and reading outcomes among 77 typically developing children. Findings reveal positive associations between the number of hours children are read to weekly (shared reading time) and the fractional anisotropy of the left arcuate fasciculus, as well as left lateralization of the superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF). Furthermore, left lateralization of the SLF in these kindergarteners is associated with subsequent reading abilities in second grade. Mediation analyses reveal that left lateralization of the SLF fully mediates the relationship between shared reading time and second-grade reading abilities. Results are significant when controlling for age and socioeconomic status. This is the first evidence demonstrating how white matter structure, in relation to shared reading in kindergarten, is associated with school-age reading outcomes. Results illuminate shared reading as a key proxy for the home language and literacy environment and further our understanding of how language interaction may support neurocognitive development.

Neurobiological predispositions for musicality: White matter in infancy predicts school-age music aptitude.

Musical training has long been viewed as a model for experience-dependent brain plasticity. Reports of musical training-induced brain plasticity are largely based on cross-sectional studies comparing musicians to non-musicians, which cannot address whether musical training itself is sufficient to induce these neurobiological changes or whether pre-existing neuroarchitecture before training predisposes children to succeed in music. Here, in a longitudinal investigation of children from infancy to school age (n = 25), we find brain structure in infancy that predicts subsequent music aptitude skills at school-age. Building on prior evidence implicating white matter organization of the corticospinal tract as a neural predisposition for musical training in adults, here we find that structural organization of the right corticospinal tract in infancy is associated with school-age tonal and rhythmic musical aptitude skills. Moreover, within the corpus callosum, an inter-hemispheric white matter pathway traditionally linked with musical training, we find that structural organization of this pathway in infancy is associated with subsequent tonal music aptitude. Our findings suggest predispositions prior to the onset of musical training from as early as infancy may serve as a scaffold upon which ongoing musical experience can build. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS: Structural organization of the right corticospinal tract in infancy is associated with school-age musical aptitude skills. Longitudinal associations between the right corticospinal tract in infancy and school-age rhythmic music aptitude skills remain significant even when controlling for language ability. Findings support the notion of predispositions for success in music, and suggest that musical predispositions likely build upon a neural structural scaffold established in infancy. Findings support the working hypothesis that a dynamic interaction between predisposition and experience established in infancy shape the trajectory of long-term musical development.

Functional Connectivity in Infancy and Toddlerhood Predicts Long-Term Language and Preliteracy Outcomes.

Functional connectivity (FC) techniques can delineate brain organization as early as infancy, enabling the characterization of early brain characteristics associated with subsequent behavioral outcomes. Previous studies have identified specific functional networks in infant brains that underlie cognitive abilities and pathophysiology subsequently observed in toddlers and preschoolers. However, it is unknown whether and how functional networks emerging within the first 18 months of life contribute to the development of higher order, complex functions of language/literacy at school-age. This 5-year longitudinal imaging project starting in infancy, utilized resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging and demonstrated prospective associations between FC in infants/toddlers and subsequent language and foundational literacy skills at 6.5 years old. These longitudinal associations were shown independently of key environmental influences and further present in a subsample of infant imaging data (≤12 months), suggesting early emerged functional networks specifically linked to high-order language and preliteracy skills. Moreover, emergent language skills in infancy and toddlerhood contributed to the prospective associations, implicating a role of early linguistic experiences in shaping the FC correlates of long-term oral language skills. The current results highlight the importance of functional organization established in infancy and toddlerhood as a neural scaffold underlying the learning process of complex cognitive functions.

Multifactorial pathways facilitate resilience among kindergarteners at risk for dyslexia: A longitudinal behavioral and neuroimaging study.

Recent efforts have focused on screening methods to identify children at risk for dyslexia as early as preschool/kindergarten. Unfortunately, while low sensitivity leads to under-identification of at-risk children, low specificity can lead to over-identification, resulting in inaccurate allocation of limited educational resources. The present study focused on children identified as at-risk in kindergarten who do not subsequently develop poor reading skills to specify factors associated with better reading outcomes among at-risk children. Early screening was conducted in kindergarten and a subset of children was tracked longitudinally until second grade. Potential protective factors were evaluated at cognitive-linguistic, environmental, and neural levels. Relative to at-risk kindergarteners with subsequent poor reading, those with typical reading outcomes were characterized by significantly higher socioeconomic status (SES), speech production accuracy, and structural organization of the posterior right-hemispheric superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF). A positive association between structural organization of the right SLF and subsequent decoding skills was found to be specific to at-risk children and not observed among typical controls. Among at-risk children, several kindergarten-age factors were found to significantly contribute to the prediction of subsequent decoding skills: white matter organization in the posterior right SLF, age, gender, SES, and phonological awareness. These findings suggest that putative compensatory mechanisms are already present by the start of kindergarten. The right SLF, in conjunction with the cognitive-linguistic and socioeconomic factors identified, may play an important role in facilitating reading development among at-risk children. This study has important implications for approaches to early screening, and assessment strategies for at-risk children.

Putative protective neural mechanisms in prereaders with a family history of dyslexia who subsequently develop typical reading skills.

Developmental dyslexia affects 40-60% of children with a familial risk (FHD+) compared to a general prevalence of 5-10%. Despite the increased risk, about half of FHD+ children develop typical reading abilities (FHD+Typical). Yet the underlying neural characteristics of favorable reading outcomes in at-risk children remain unknown. Utilizing a retrospective, longitudinal approach, this study examined whether putative protective neural mechanisms can be observed in FHD+Typical at the prereading stage. Functional and structural brain characteristics were examined in 47 FHD+ prereaders who subsequently developed typical (n = 35) or impaired (n = 12) reading abilities and 34 controls (FHD-Typical). Searchlight-based multivariate pattern analyses identified distinct activation patterns during phonological processing between FHD+Typical and FHD-Typical in right inferior frontal gyrus (RIFG) and left temporo-parietal cortex (LTPC) regions. Follow-up analyses on group-specific classification patterns demonstrated LTPC hypoactivation in FHD+Typical compared to FHD-Typical, suggesting this neural characteristic as an FHD+ phenotype. In contrast, RIFG showed hyperactivation in FHD+Typical than FHD-Typical, and its activation pattern was positively correlated with subsequent reading abilities in FHD+ but not controls (FHD-Typical). RIFG hyperactivation in FHD+Typical was further associated with increased interhemispheric functional and structural connectivity. These results suggest that some protective neural mechanisms are already established in FHD+Typical prereaders supporting their typical reading development.

The relationship between socioeconomic status and white matter microstructure in pre-reading children: A longitudinal investigation.

Reading is a learned skill crucial for educational attainment. Children from families of lower socioeconomic status (SES) tend to have poorer reading performance and this gap widens across years of schooling. Reading relies on the orchestration of multiple neural systems integrated via specific white-matter pathways, but there is limited understanding about whether these pathways relate differentially to reading performance depending on SES background. Kindergarten white-matter FA and second-grade reading outcomes were investigated in an SES-diverse sample of 125 children. The three left-hemisphere white-matter tracts most associated with reading, and their right-hemisphere homologs, were examined: arcuate fasciculus (AF), superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF), and inferior longitudinal fasciculus (ILF). There was a significant and positive association between SES and fractional anisotropy (FA) in the bilateral ILF in kindergarten. SES moderated the association between kindergarten ILF and second grade reading performance, such that it was positive in lower-SES children, but not significant in higher-SES children. These results have implications for understanding the role of the environment in the development of the neural pathways that support reading.

Emergence of the neural network underlying phonological processing from the prereading to the emergent reading stage: A longitudinal study.

Numerous studies have shown that phonological skills are critical for successful reading acquisition. However, how the brain network supporting phonological processing evolves and how it supports the initial course of learning to read is largely unknown. Here, for the first time, we characterized the emergence of the phonological network in 28 children over three stages (prereading, beginning reading, and emergent reading) longitudinally. Across these three time points, decreases in neural activation in the left inferior parietal cortex (LIPC) were observed during an audiovisual phonological processing task, suggesting a specialization process in response to reading instruction/experience. Furthermore, using the LIPC as the seed, a functional network consisting of the left inferior frontal, left posterior occipitotemporal, and right angular gyri was identified. The connection strength in this network co-developed with the growth of phonological skills. Moreover, children with above-average gains in phonological processing showed a significant developmental increase in connection strength in this network longitudinally, while children with below-average gains in phonological processing exhibited the opposite trajectory. Finally, the connection strength between the LIPC and the left posterior occipitotemporal cortex at the prereading level significantly predicted reading performance at the emergent reading stage. Our findings highlight the importance of the early emerging phonological network for reading development, providing direct evidence for the Interactive Specialization Theory and neurodevelopmental models of reading.

White Matter Alterations in Infants at Risk for Developmental Dyslexia.

Developmental dyslexia (DD) is a heritable condition characterized by persistent difficulties in learning to read. White matter alterations in left-lateralized language areas, particularly in the arcuate fasciculus (AF), have been observed in DD, and diffusion properties within the AF correlate with (pre-)reading skills as early as kindergarten. However, it is unclear how early these alterations can be observed. We investigated white matter structure in 14 infants with (FHD+; ages 6.6-17.6 months) and 18 without (FHD-; ages 5.1-17.6 months) familial risk for DD. Diffusion scans were acquired during natural sleep, and early language skills were assessed. Tractography for bilateral AF was reconstructed using manual and automated methods, allowing for independent validation of results. Fractional anisotropy (FA) was calculated at multiple nodes along the tracts for more precise localization of group differences. The analyses revealed significantly lower FA in the left AF for FHD+ compared with FHD- infants, particularly in the central portion of the tract. Moreover, expressive language positively correlated with FA across groups. Our results demonstrate that atypical brain development associated with DD is already present within the first 18 months of life, suggesting that the deficits associated with DD may result from altered structural connectivity in left-hemispheric regions.

Functional characteristics of developmental dyslexia in left-hemispheric posterior brain regions predate reading onset.

Individuals with developmental dyslexia (DD) show a disruption in posterior left-hemispheric neural networks during phonological processing. Additionally, compensatory mechanisms in children and adults with DD have been located within frontal brain areas. However, it remains unclear when and how differences in posterior left-hemispheric networks manifest and whether compensatory mechanisms have already started to develop in the prereading brain. Here we investigate functional networks during phonological processing in 36 prereading children with a familial risk for DD (n = 18, average age = 66.50 mo) compared with age and IQ-matched controls (n = 18; average age = 65.61 mo). Functional neuroimaging results reveal reduced activation in prereading children with a family-history of DD (FHD(+)), compared with those without (FHD(-)), in bilateral occipitotemporal and left temporoparietal brain regions. This finding corresponds to previously identified hypoactivations in left hemispheric posterior brain regions for school-aged children and adults with a diagnosis of DD. Furthermore, left occipitotemporal and temporoparietal brain activity correlates positively with prereading skills in both groups. Our results suggest that differences in neural correlates of phonological processing in individuals with DD are not a result of reading failure, but are present before literacy acquisition starts. Additionally, no hyperactivation in frontal brain regions was observed, suggesting that compensatory mechanisms for reading failure are not yet present. Future longitudinal studies are needed to determine whether the identified differences may serve as neural premarkers for the early identification of children at risk for DD.

Caregiver Self-Efficacy in Relation to Caregivers' History of Language and Reading Difficulties and Children's Shared Reading Experiences.

PURPOSE: Emerging literature suggests caregiver self-efficacy is an important factor related to caregivers' shared reading practices with their children. Reduced shared reading has been documented among families of caregiver(s) with language-based learning disabilities (LBLD). Yet, it remains unclear whether caregivers' history of language and reading difficulties is associated with caregiver self-efficacy. The purpose of this study was to examine whether self-efficacy in language- and reading-related caregiver activities related to caregiver history of language and reading difficulties and shared reading practices. METHOD: One hundred seventy-six caregivers of children aged 18-60 months completed a custom self-efficacy in language- and reading-related caregiver activities questionnaire, as well as demographic, history of language and reading difficulties (used both as a continuous measure and to dichotomize caregivers with and without LBLD history), and shared reading measures in a one-time survey. RESULTS: Caregivers with a history of LBLD reported an overall lower self-efficacy and a reduced amount of time reading with their children per week than caregivers without LBLD history. Examining caregiver history of language and reading difficulties continuously across the whole group, self-efficacy mediated the relationship between caregiver difficulties and shared reading practices, even when caregiver education was incorporated as an additional mediator in models. CONCLUSIONS: Findings indicate that self-efficacy and caregiver education mediate the relationship between caregiver history of language and reading difficulties and shared reading practices. Consideration of self-efficacy by clinicians and educators is warranted when promoting shared reading practices to caregivers of young children. There is a need for future research to examine relationships between self-efficacy and shared reading among caregivers with LBLD of culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL: https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.25901590.

Controlling Pitch for Prosody: Sensorimotor Adaptation in Linguistically Meaningful Contexts.

PURPOSE: This study examined how speakers adapt to fundamental frequency (fo) errors that affect the use of prosody to convey linguistic meaning, whether fo adaptation in that context relates to adaptation in linguistically neutral sustained vowels, and whether cue trading is reflected in responses in the prosodic cues of fo and amplitude. METHOD: Twenty-four speakers said vowels and sentences while fo was digitally altered to induce predictable errors. Shifts in fo (±200 cents) were applied to the entire sustained vowel and one word (emphasized or unemphasized) in sentences. Two prosodic cues-fo and amplitude-were extracted. The effects of fo shifts, shift direction, and emphasis on fo response magnitude were evaluated with repeated-measures analyses of variance. Relationships between adaptive fo responses in sentences and vowels and between adaptive fo and amplitude responses were evaluated with Spearman correlations. RESULTS: Speakers adapted to fo errors in both linguistically meaningful sentences and linguistically neutral vowels. Adaptive fo responses of unemphasized words were smaller than those of emphasized words when fo was shifted upward. There was no relationship between adaptive fo responses in vowels and emphasized words, but adaptive fo and amplitude responses were strongly, positively correlated. CONCLUSIONS: Sensorimotor adaptation occurs in response to fo errors regardless of how disruptive the error is to linguistic meaning. Adaptation to fo errors during sustained vowels may not involve the exact same mechanisms as sensorimotor adaptation as it occurs in meaningful speech. The relationship between adaptive responses in fo and amplitude supports an integrated model of prosody. SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL: https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.25008908.

Sequence Processing in Music Predicts Reading Skills in Young Readers: A Longitudinal Study.

Musical abilities, both in the pitch and temporal dimension, have been shown to be positively associated with phonological awareness and reading abilities in both children and adults. There is increasing evidence that the relationship between music and language relies primarily on the temporal dimension, including both meter and rhythm. It remains unclear to what extent skill level in these temporal aspects of music may uniquely contribute to the prediction of reading outcomes. A longitudinal design was used to test a group-administered musical sequence transcription task (MSTT). This task was designed to preferentially engage sequence processing skills while controlling for fine-grained pitch discrimination and rhythm in terms of temporal grouping. Forty-five children, native speakers of Portuguese (Mage = 7.4 years), completed the MSTT and a cognitive-linguistic protocol that included visual and auditory working memory tasks, as well as phonological awareness and reading tasks in second grade. Participants then completed reading assessments in third and fifth grades. Longitudinal regression models showed that MSTT and phonological awareness had comparable power to predict reading. The MSTT showed an overall classification accuracy for identifying low-achievement readers in Grades 2, 3, and 5 that was analogous to a comprehensive model including core predictors of reading disability. In addition, MSTT was the variable with the highest loading and the most discriminatory indicator of a phonological factor. These findings carry implications for the role of temporal sequence processing in contributing to the relationship between music and language and the potential use of MSTT as a language-independent, time- and cost-effective tool for the early identification of children at risk of reading disability.

Preliteracy Skills Mediate the Relation Between Early Speech Sound Production and Subsequent Reading Outcomes.

PURPOSE: Learning to read is a complex, multifaceted process that relies on several speech and language-related subskills. Individual differences in word reading outcomes are indicated among children with inaccurate speech sound productions, with some of these children developing later reading difficulties. There are inconsistent reports as to whether phonological deficits and/or weaknesses in oral language explain these subsequent reading difficulties. Thus, it remains unclear how variability in speech production accuracy in early childhood may impact reading development. Therefore, the present longitudinal study seeks to clarify the relation between speech sound production accuracy in kindergarten and subsequent reading outcomes with a focus on additional potential mediating factors. METHOD: Speech accuracy, core preliteracy skills (phonological awareness, rapid naming, and letter-name knowledge), and additional potential mediators (phonological memory and oral language abilities) were characterized at the start of formal reading instruction. Word reading, decoding, reading fluency, and comprehension were assessed at the end of second grade. Mediation analyses were conducted to examine factors that mediate the relation between speech accuracy in kindergarten and subsequent reading outcomes. RESULTS: Initial associations between early speech sound production accuracy and subsequent reading outcomes were indicated; however, mediation effects of preliteracy skills (phonological awareness and letter-name knowledge) were identified for word reading, decoding, and reading fluency outcomes. For reading comprehension, mediation effects of preliteracy and vocabulary skills were observed. CONCLUSIONS: The relation between speech sound production accuracy and subsequent word reading, decoding, reading fluency, and comprehension was observed to be mediated by preliteracy skills, specifically phonological awareness and letter-name knowledge. For reading comprehension only, vocabulary knowledge were of additional importance. SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL: https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.23671491.

Speech Perception Variability in Childhood Apraxia of Speech: Implications for Assessment and Intervention.

PURPOSE: Beyond hallmark production deficits characterizing childhood apraxia of speech (CAS), largely attributed to disruption(s) in speech motor planning, children with CAS often present with co-occurring speech perception and language difficulties. Thus, careful consideration of the potential for speech perception difficulties to have cascading downstream effects on intervention responsiveness and real-life functioning for some children with CAS is highly important. The purpose of this tutorial was to consider the impact of speech perception abilities in children with CAS, which carries implications for caring for the needs of the whole child. METHOD: This tutorial summarizes the current literature on speech perception and how it relates to speech production, language, and reading abilities for children with CAS. We include case illustrations that are adapted from real clinical scenarios illustrating how speech perception difficulties may impact some children with CAS and provide recommendations for incorporating speech perception into assessment and intervention practices. RESULTS: Although speech perception difficulties do not seem to be a core deficit of CAS, they are strongly linked to language difficulties, which are highly prevalent among children with CAS. Speech perception and language difficulties are also associated with reading difficulties and risk for lower academic achievement. CONCLUSIONS: Children with CAS who have co-occurring language difficulties likely also demonstrate speech perception deficits, which puts them at heightened risk for reading difficulties and struggles with academic achievement. Comprehensive assessment of children with CAS should address speech perception and production, language, and reading abilities, which carries important implications for multifaceted approaches to intervention.

Patterns of Neural Functional Connectivity in Infants at Familial Risk of Developmental Dyslexia.

Importance: Developmental dyslexia is a heritable learning disability affecting 7% to 10% of the general population and can have detrimental impacts on mental health and vocational potential. Individuals with dyslexia show altered functional organization of the language and reading neural networks; however, it remains unknown how early in life these neural network alterations might emerge. Objective: To determine whether the early emergence of large-scale neural functional connectivity (FC) underlying long-term language and reading development is altered in infants with a familial history of dyslexia (FHD). Design, Setting, and Participants: This cohort study included infants recruited at Boston Children's Hospital between May 2011 and February 2019. Participants underwent structural and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging in the Department of Radiology at Boston Children's Hospital. Infants with FHD were matched with infants without FHD based on age and sex. Data were analyzed from April 2019 to June 2021. Exposures: FHD was defined as having at least 1 first-degree relative with a dyslexia diagnosis or documented reading difficulties. Main Outcomes and Measures: Whole-brain FC patterns associated with 20 predefined cerebral regions important for long-term language and reading development were computed for each infant. Multivariate pattern analyses were applied to identify specific FC patterns that differentiated between infants with vs without FHD. For classification performance estimates, 99% CIs were calculated as the classification accuracy minus chance level. Results: A total of 98 infants (mean [SD] age, 8.5 [2.3] months; 51 [52.0%] girls) were analyzed, including 35 infants with FHD and 63 infants without FHD. Multivariate pattern analyses identified distinct FC patterns between infants with vs without FHD in the left fusiform gyrus (classification accuracy, 0.55 [99% CI, 0.046-0.062]; corrected P < .001; Cohen d = 0.76). Connections linking left fusiform gyrus to regions in the frontal and parietal language and attention networks were among the paths with the highest contributions to the classification performance. Conclusions and Relevance: These findings suggest that on the group level, FHD was associated with an early onset of atypical FC of regions important for subsequent word form recognition during reading acquisition. Longitudinal studies linking the atypical functional network and school-age reading abilities will be essential to further elucidate the ontogenetic mechanisms underlying the development of dyslexia.

Home language and literacy environment and its relationship to socioeconomic status and white matter structure in infancy.

The home language and literacy environment (HLLE) in infancy has been associated with subsequent pre-literacy skill development and HLLE at preschool-age has been shown to correlate with white matter organization in tracts that subserve pre-reading and reading skills. Furthermore, childhood socioeconomic status (SES) has been linked with both HLLE and white matter organization. It is important to understand whether the relationships between environmental factors such as HLLE and SES and white matter organization can be detected as early as infancy, as this period is characterized by rapid brain development that may make white matter pathways particularly susceptible to these early experiences. Here, we hypothesized that HLLE (1) relates to white matter organization in pre-reading and reading-related tracts in infants, and (2) mediates a link between SES and white matter organization. To test these hypotheses, infants (mean age: 8.6 ± 2.3 months, N = 38) underwent diffusion-weighted imaging MRI during natural sleep. Image processing was performed with an infant-specific pipeline and fractional anisotropy (FA) was estimated from the arcuate fasciculus (AF) and superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF) bilaterally using the baby automated fiber quantification method. HLLE was measured with the Reading subscale of the StimQ (StimQ-Reading) and SES was measured with years of maternal education. Self-reported maternal reading ability was also quantified and applied to our statistical models as a proxy for confounding genetic effects. StimQ-Reading positively correlated with FA in left AF and to maternal education, but did not mediate the relationship between them. Taken together, these findings underscore the importance of considering HLLE from the start of life and may inform novel prevention and intervention strategies to support developing infants during a period of heightened brain plasticity.

White matter in infancy is prospectively associated with language outcomes in kindergarten.

Language acquisition is of central importance to child development. Although this developmental trajectory is shaped by experience postnatally, the neural basis for language emerges prenatally. Thus, a fundamental question remains: do structural foundations for language in infancy predict long-term language abilities? Longitudinal investigation of 40 children from infancy to kindergarten reveals that white matter in infancy is prospectively associated with subsequent language abilities, specifically between: (i) left arcuate fasciculus and phonological awareness and vocabulary knowledge, (ii) left corticospinal tract and phonological awareness, and bilateral corticospinal tract with phonological memory; controlling for age, cognitive, and environmental factors. Findings link white matter in infancy with school-age language abilities, suggesting that white matter organization in infancy sets a foundation for long-term language development.

Evaluating predisposition and training in shaping the musician's brain: the need for a developmental perspective.

The study of music training as a model for structural plasticity has evolved significantly over the past 15 years. Neuroimaging studies have identified characteristic structural brain alterations in musicians compared to nonmusicians in school-age children and adults, using primarily cross-sectional designs. Despite this emerging evidence and advances in pediatric neuroimaging techniques, hardly any studies have examined brain development in early childhood (before age 8) in association with musical training, and longitudinal studies starting in infancy or preschool are particularly scarce. Consequently, it remains unclear whether the characteristic "musician brain" is solely the result of musical training, or whether certain predispositions may have an impact on its development. Moving toward a developmental perspective, the present review considers various factors that may contribute to early brain structure prior to the onset of formal musical training. This review introduces a model for potential neurobiological pathways leading to the characteristic "musician brain," which involves a developmental interaction between predisposition and its temporal dynamics, environmental experience, and training-induced plasticity. This perspective illuminates the importance of studying the brain structure associated with musical training through a developmental lens, and the need for longitudinal studies in early childhood to advance our understanding of music training-induced structural plasticity.

What Factors Facilitate Resilience in Developmental Dyslexia? Examining Protective and Compensatory Mechanisms Across the Neurodevelopmental Trajectory.

Developmental dyslexia is a specific learning disability characterized by deficits reading single words. Dyslexia is heritable and has been associated with neural alterations in regions of the left hemisphere in the brain. Cognitive and neural atypicalities have been observed before children with familial risk for dyslexia begin reading, yet children who are at risk subsequently develop reading abilities on a continuum from good to poor. Of those children who develop good reading skills, what factors are associated with more successful outcomes? In this article, we review findings describing genetic, cognitive, neurobiological, and environmental factors that facilitate reading development and propose a model of neural pathways to support successful reading development in at-risk children. This research can inform educational and clinical strategies to support at-risk children. Investigating factors that contribute to the variance in behavioral outcomes among at-risk children may help us understand developmental disorders and associated etiological, compensatory, and protective factors.