Prosodic features in production reflect reading comprehension skill in high school students.

Young children's prosodic fluency correlates with their reading ability, as children who are better early readers also produce more adult-like prosodic cues to syntactic and semantic structure. But less work has explored this question for high school readers, who are more proficient readers, but still exhibit wide variability in reading comprehension skill and prosodic fluency. In the current study, we investigated acoustic indices of prosodic production in high school students (N = 40; ages 13-19) exhibiting a range of reading comprehension skill. Participants read aloud a series of 12 short stories which included simple statements, wh-questions, yes-no questions, quotatives, and ambiguous and unambiguous multiclausal sentences. In addition, to assess the contribution of discourse coherence, sentences were read in either canonical or randomized order. Acoustic cues known to index prosodic phenomena-duration, fundamental frequency, and intensity-were extracted and compared across structures and participants. Results demonstrated that high school readers as a group consistently signal syntactic and semantic structure with prosody, and that reading comprehension skill, above and beyond lower-level skills, correlates with prosodic fluency, as better comprehenders produced stronger prosodic cues. However, discourse coherence did not produce consistent effects. These results strengthen the finding that prosodic fluency and reading comprehension are linked, even for older, proficient readers. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Will you read how I will read? Naturalistic fMRI predictors of emergent reading.

Despite reading being an essential and almost universal skill in the developed world, reading proficiency varies substantially from person to person. To study why, the fMRI field is beginning to turn from single-word or nonword reading tasks to naturalistic stimuli like connected text and listening to stories. To study reading development in children just beginning to read, listening to stories is an appropriate paradigm because speech perception and phonological processing are important for, and are predictors of, reading proficiency. Our study examined the relationship between behavioral reading-related skills and the neural response to listening to stories in the fMRI environment. Functional MRI were gathered in a 3T TIM-Trio scanner. During the fMRI scan, children aged approximately 7 years listened to professionally narrated common short stories and answered comprehension questions following the narration. Analyses of the data used inter-subject correlation (ISC), and representational similarity analysis (RSA). Our primary finding is that ISC reveals areas of increased synchrony in both high- and low-performing emergent readers previously implicated in reading ability/disability. Of particular interest are that several previously identified brain regions (medial temporal gyrus (MTG), inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), inferior temporal gyrus (ITG)) were found to "synchronize" across higher reading ability participants, while lower reading ability participants had idiosyncratic activation patterns in these regions. Additionally, two regions (superior frontal gyrus (SFG) and another portion of ITG) were recruited by all participants, but their specific timecourse of activation depended on reading performance. These analyses support the idea that different brain regions involved in reading follow different developmental trajectories that correlate with reading proficiency on a spectrum rather than the usual dichotomy of poor readers versus strong readers.

Inter-subject correlation during long narratives reveals widespread neural correlates of reading ability.

Recent work using fMRI inter-subject correlation analysis has provided new information about the brain's response to video and audio narratives, particularly in frontal regions not typically activated by single words. This approach is very well suited to the study of reading, where narrative is central to natural experience. But since past reading paradigms have primarily presented single words or phrases, the influence of narrative on semantic processing in the brain - and how that influence might change with reading ability - remains largely unexplored. In this study, we presented coherent stories to adolescents and young adults with a wide range of reading abilities. The stories were presented in alternating visual and auditory blocks. We used a dimensional inter-subject correlation analysis to identify regions in which better and worse readers had varying levels of consistency with other readers. This analysis identified a widespread set of brain regions in which activity timecourses were more similar among better readers than among worse readers. These differences were not detected with standard block activation analyses. Worse readers had higher correlation with better readers than with other worse readers, suggesting that the worse readers had "idiosyncratic" responses rather than using a single compensatory mechanism. Close inspection confirmed that these differences were not explained by differences in IQ or motion. These results suggest an expansion of the current view of where and how reading ability is reflected in the brain, and in doing so, they establish inter-subject correlation as a sensitive tool for future studies of reading disorders.

Event-Related Potentials in Assessing Visual Speech Cues in the Broader Autism Phenotype: Evidence from a Phonemic Restoration Paradigm.

Audiovisual speech perception includes the simultaneous processing of auditory and visual speech. Deficits in audiovisual speech perception are reported in autistic individuals; however, less is known regarding audiovisual speech perception within the broader autism phenotype (BAP), which includes individuals with elevated, yet subclinical, levels of autistic traits. We investigate the neural indices of audiovisual speech perception in adults exhibiting a range of autism-like traits using event-related potentials (ERPs) in a phonemic restoration paradigm. In this paradigm, we consider conditions where speech articulators (mouth and jaw) are present (AV condition) and obscured by a pixelated mask (PX condition). These two face conditions were included in both passive (simply viewing a speaking face) and active (participants were required to press a button for a specific consonant-vowel stimulus) experiments. The results revealed an N100 ERP component which was present for all listening contexts and conditions; however, it was attenuated in the active AV condition where participants were able to view the speaker's face, including the mouth and jaw. The P300 ERP component was present within the active experiment only, and significantly greater within the AV condition compared to the PX condition. This suggests increased neural effort for detecting deviant stimuli when visible articulation was present and visual influence on perception. Finally, the P300 response was negatively correlated with autism-like traits, suggesting that higher autistic traits were associated with generally smaller P300 responses in the active AV and PX conditions. The conclusions support the finding that atypical audiovisual processing may be characteristic of the BAP in adults.

Neural and Behavioral Differences in Speech Perception for Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders Within an Audiovisual Context.

PURPOSE: Reduced use of visible articulatory information on a speaker's face has been implicated as a possible contributor to language deficits in autism spectrum disorders (ASD). We employ an audiovisual (AV) phonemic restoration paradigm to measure behavioral performance (button press) and event-related potentials (ERPs) of visual speech perception in children with ASD and their neurotypical peers to assess potential neural substrates that contribute to group differences. METHOD: Two sets of speech stimuli, /ba/-"/a/" ("/a/" was created from the /ba/ token by a reducing the initial consonant) and /ba/-/pa/, were presented within an auditory oddball paradigm to children aged 6-13 years with ASD (n = 17) and typical development (TD; n = 33) within two conditions. The AV condition contained a fully visible speaking face; the pixelated (PX) condition included a face, but the mouth and jaw were PX, removing all articulatory information. When articulatory features were present for the /ba/-"/a/" contrast, it was expected that the influence of the visual articulators would facilitate a phonemic restoration effect in which "/a/" would be perceived as /ba/. ERPs were recorded during the experiment while children were required to press a button for the deviant sound for both sets of speech contrasts within both conditions. RESULTS: Button press data revealed that TD children were more accurate in discriminating between /ba/-"/a/" and /ba/-/pa/ contrasts in the PX condition relative to the ASD group. ERPs in response to the /ba/-/pa/ contrast within both AV and PX conditions differed between children with ASD and TD children (earlier P300 responses for children with ASD). CONCLUSION: Children with ASD differ in the underlying neural mechanisms responsible for speech processing compared with TD peers within an AV context.

Where on the face do we look during phonemic restoration: An eye-tracking study.

Face to face communication typically involves audio and visual components to the speech signal. To examine the effect of task demands on gaze patterns in response to a speaking face, adults participated in two eye-tracking experiments with an audiovisual (articulatory information from the mouth was visible) and a pixelated condition (articulatory information was not visible). Further, task demands were manipulated by having listeners respond in a passive (no response) or an active (button press response) context. The active experiment required participants to discriminate between speech stimuli and was designed to mimic environmental situations which require one to use visual information to disambiguate the speaker's message, simulating different listening conditions in real-world settings. Stimuli included a clear exemplar of the syllable /ba/ and a second exemplar in which the formant initial consonant was reduced creating an /a/-like consonant. Consistent with our hypothesis, results revealed that the greatest fixations to the mouth were present in the audiovisual active experiment and visual articulatory information led to a phonemic restoration effect for the /a/ speech token. In the pixelated condition, participants fixated on the eyes, and discrimination of the deviant token within the active experiment was significantly greater than the audiovisual condition. These results suggest that when required to disambiguate changes in speech, adults may look to the mouth for additional cues to support processing when it is available.

The impact of computer-assisted technology on literacy acquisition during COVID-19-related school closures: Group-level effects and predictors of individual-level outcomes.

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic led to school closure and loss of in-person instruction during the 2019-2020 academic year across the United States, which had a profound impact on the reading development of beginning readers. In this study we tested if a research-informed educational technology (EdTech) program-GraphoLearn-could help alleviate the COVID-19 slide. We also sought to understand the profiles of children who benefitted most from this EdTech program. Methods: We tested participants' (N = 172 K-2 children) early literacy skills using a standardized measure (STAR) before and after playing GraphoLearn, and used the pre to post difference as the dependent variable. We first compared children's STAR actual and expected growth. Then we conducted a multiple regression analysis with data about engagement with GraphoLearn included as predictors. Additional predictors were extracted from GraphoLearn performance at study onset to assess children's letter-sound knowledge, rime awareness, and word recognition. Results: The difference between actual average reading growth and expected growth in a regular school year was not statistically significant. This suggests that children in our sample seem to be gaining reading skills as expected in a regular school year. Our multiple linear regression model (which accounted for R2 = 48% of reading growth) showed that older children, with higher baseline GraphoLearn word recognition, who played more units in a fixed number of days, made significantly more early literacy progress. Discussion: While lacking a control group, our preliminary results suggest that an EdTech program such as GraphoLearn may be a useful reading instructional tool during school shutdowns. In addition, our results suggest that practice with GraphoLearn was more effective and efficient when foundational instruction was already in place.

Event-Related Potentials to Speech Relate to Speech Sound Production and Language in Young Children.

This research was funded through the American Speech and Hearing Foundation's 2012 StudentResearch Grant in Early Childhood Language Development awarded to Vanessa Harwood as well as an anonymous generous donation to Haskins Laboratories. Electrophysiological measures of language within early childhood provide important information about neurolinguistic development. We investigated associations between amplitude and latency of the P1 and N2 event-related potential components in response to spoken pseudowords, and clinical measures of language performance within a sample of 58 typically developing children between 24 and 48 months. N2 amplitude differences between repeated and new tokens were correlated with measures of expressive and receptive language and speech sound production. Phonemic sensitivity measured by the N2 component may reflect the integrity of neural networks that are important for speech perception and production in young children.

Audiovisual Speech Perception in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders: Evidence from Visual Phonemic Restoration.

Children with autism spectrum disorders have been reported to be less influenced by a speaker's face during speech perception than those with typically development. To more closely examine these reported differences, a novel visual phonemic restoration paradigm was used to assess neural signatures (event-related potentials [ERPs]) of audiovisual processing in typically developing children and in children with autism spectrum disorder. Video of a speaker saying the syllable /ba/ was paired with (1) a synthesized /ba/ or (2) a synthesized syllable derived from /ba/ in which auditory cues for the consonant were substantially weakened, thereby sounding more like /a/. The auditory stimuli are easily discriminable; however, in the context of a visual /ba/, the auditory /a/ is typically perceived as /ba/, producing a visual phonemic restoration. Only children with ASD showed a large /ba/-/a/ discrimination response in the presence of a speaker producing /ba/, suggesting reduced influence of visual speech.

Reading intervention and neuroplasticity: A systematic review and meta-analysis of brain changes associated with reading intervention.

Behavioral research supports the efficacy of intervention for reading disability, but the brain mechanisms underlying improvement in reading are not well understood. Here, we review 39 neuroimaging studies of reading intervention to characterize links between reading improvement and changes in the brain. We report evidence of changes in activation, connectivity, and structure within the reading network, and right hemisphere, frontal and sub-cortical regions. Our meta-analysis of changes in brain activation from pre- to post- reading intervention in eight studies did not yield any significant effects. Methodological heterogeneity among studies may contribute to the lack of significant meta-analytic findings. Based on our qualitative synthesis, we propose that brain changes in response to intervention should be considered in terms of interactions among distributed cognitive, linguistic and sensory systems, rather than via a "normalized" vs. "compensatory" dichotomy. Further empirical research is needed to identify effects of moderating factors such as features of intervention programs, neuroimaging tasks, and individual differences among participants.

Widespread effects of dMRI data quality on diffusion measures in children.

Diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (dMRI) datasets are susceptible to several confounding factors related to data quality, which is especially true in studies involving young children. With the recent trend of large-scale multicenter studies, it is more critical to be aware of the varied impacts of data quality on measures of interest. Here, we investigated data quality and its effect on different diffusion measures using a multicenter dataset. dMRI data were obtained from 691 participants (5-17 years of age) from six different centers. Six data quality metrics-contrast to noise ratio, outlier slices, and motion (absolute, relative, translation, and rotational)-and four diffusion measures-fractional anisotropy, mean diffusivity, tract density, and length-were computed for each of 36 major fiber tracts for all participants. The results indicated that four out of six data quality metrics (all except absolute and translation motion) differed significantly between centers. Associations between these data quality metrics and the diffusion measures differed significantly across the tracts and centers. Moreover, these effects remained significant after applying recently proposed harmonization algorithms that purport to remove unwanted between-site variation in diffusion data. These results demonstrate the widespread impact of dMRI data quality on diffusion measures. These tracts and measures have been routinely associated with individual differences as well as group-wide differences between neurotypical populations and individuals with neurological or developmental disorders. Accordingly, for analyses of individual differences or group effects (particularly in multisite dataset), we encourage the inclusion of data quality metrics in dMRI analysis.

Researcher-practitioner partnerships and in-school laboratories facilitate translational research in reading.

Educational neuroscience approaches have helped to elucidate the brain basis of Reading Disability (RD) and of reading intervention response; however, there is often limited translation of this knowledge to the broader scientific and educational communities. Moreover, this work is traditionally lab-based, and thus the underlying theories and research questions are siloed from classroom practices. With growing awareness of the neurobiological origins of RD and increasing popularity of putative "brain-based" approaches in clinics and classrooms, it is imperative that we create more direct and bidirectional communication between scientists and practitioners. Such direct collaborations can help dispel neuromyths, and lead to increased understanding of the promises and pitfalls of neuroscience approaches. Moreover, direct partnerships between researchers and practitioners can lead to greater ecological validity in study designs to improve upon the translational potential of findings. To this end, we have forged collaborative partnerships, and built cognitive neuroscience laboratories within independent reading disabilities schools. This approach affords frequent and ecologically valid neurobiological assessment as children's reading improves in response to intervention. It also permits the creation of dynamic models of leading and lagging relationships of students' learning, and identification of individual-level predictors of intervention response. The partnerships also provide in-depth knowledge of student characteristics and classroom practices, which, when combined with the data we acquire, may facilitate optimization of instructional approaches. In this commentary, we discuss the creation of our partnerships, the scientific problem we are addressing (variable response to reading intervention), and the epistemological significance of researcher-practitioner bi-directional learning.

Neurite density and arborization is associated with reading skill and phonological processing in children.

BACKGROUND: Studies exploring neuroanatomic correlates of reading have associated white matter tissue properties with reading disability and related componential skills (e.g., phonological and single-word reading skills). Mean diffusivity (MD) and fractional anisotropy (FA) are widely used surrogate measures of tissue microstructure with high sensitivity; however, they lack specificity for individual microstructural features. Here we investigated neurite features with higher specificity in order to explore the underlying microstructural architecture. METHODS: Diffusion weighted images (DWI) and a battery of behavioral and neuropsychological assessments were obtained from 412 children (6 - 16 years of age). Neurite indices influenced by orientation and density were attained from 23 major white matter tracts. Partial correlations were calculated between neurite indices and indicators of phonological processing and single-word reading skills using age, sex, and image quality metrics as covariates. In addition, mediation analysis was performed using structural equation modeling (SEM) to evaluate the indirect effect of phonological processing on reading skills. RESULTS: We observed that orientation dispersion index (ODI) and neurite density index (NDI) were negatively correlated with single-word reading and phonological processing skills in several tracts previously shown to have structural correlates with reading efficiency. We also observed a significant and substantial effect in which phonological processing mediated the relationship between neurite indices and reading skills in most tracts. CONCLUSIONS: In sum, we established that better reading and phonological processing skills are associated with greater tract coherence (lower ODI) and lower neurite density (lower NDI). We interpret these findings as evidence that reading is associated with neural architecture and its efficiency.

Neuroimaging genetic associations between SEMA6D, brain structure, and reading skills.

Specific reading disability (SRD) is defined by genetic and neural risk factors that are not fully understood. The current study used imaging genetics methodology to investigate relationships between SEMA6D, brain structure, and reading. SEMA6D, located on SRD risk locus DYX1, is involved in axon guidance, synapse formation, and dendrite development. SEMA6D's associations with brain structure in reading-related regions of interest (ROIs) were investigated in a sample of children with a range of reading performance, from sites in Connecticut, CT (n = 67, 6-13 years, mean age = 9.07) and San Francisco, SF (n = 28, 5-8 years, mean age = 6.5). Multiple regression analyses revealed significant associations between SEMA6D's rs16959669 and cortical thickness in the fusiform gyrus and rs4270119 and gyrification in the supramarginal gyrus in the CT sample, but this was not replicated in the SF sample. Significant clusters were not associated with reading. For white matter volume, combined analyses across both samples revealed associations between reading and the left transverse temporal gyrus, left pars triangularis, left cerebellum, and right cerebellum. White matter volume in the left transverse temporal gyrus was nominally related to rs1817178, rs12050859, and rs1898110 in SEMA6D, and rs1817178 was significantly related to reading. Haplotype analyses revealed significant associations between the whole gene and brain phenotypes. Results suggest SEMA6D likely has an impact on multiple reading-related neural structures, but only white matter volume in the transverse temporal gyrus was significantly related to reading in the current sample. As the sample was young, the transverse temporal gyrus, involved in auditory perception, may be more strongly involved in reading because phonological processing is still being learned. The relationship between SEMA6D and reading may change as different brain regions are involved during reading development. Future research should examine mediating effects, use additional brain measures, and use an older sample to better understand effects.

Is that a pibu or a pibo? Children with reading and language deficits show difficulties in learning and overnight consolidation of phonologically similar pseudowords.

Word learning is critical for the development of reading and language comprehension skills. Although previous studies have indicated that word learning is compromised in children with reading disability (RD) or developmental language disorder (DLD), it is less clear how word learning difficulties manifest in children with comorbid RD and DLD. Furthermore, it is unclear whether word learning deficits in RD or DLD include difficulties with offline consolidation of newly learned words. In the current study, we employed an artificial lexicon learning paradigm with an overnight design to investigate how typically developing (TD) children (N = 25), children with only RD (N = 93), and children with both RD and DLD (N = 34) learned and remembered a set of phonologically similar pseudowords. Results showed that compared to TD children, children with RD exhibited: (i) slower growth in discrimination accuracy for cohort item pairs sharing an onset (e.g. pibu-pibo), but not for rhyming item pairs (e.g. pibu-dibu); and (ii) lower discrimination accuracy for both cohort and rhyme item pairs on Day 2, even when accounting for differences in Day 1 learning. Moreover, children with comorbid RD and DLD showed learning and retention deficits that extended to unrelated item pairs that were phonologically dissimilar (e.g. pibu-tupa), suggestive of broader impairments compared to children with only RD. These findings provide insights into the specific learning deficits underlying RD and DLD and motivate future research concerning how children use phonological similarity to guide the organization of new word knowledge.

Functional connectivity in the developing language network in 4-year-old children predicts future reading ability.

Understanding how pre-literate children's language abilities and neural function relate to future reading ability is important for identifying children who may be at-risk for reading problems. Pre-literate children are already proficient users of spoken language and their developing brain networks for language become highly overlapping with brain networks that emerge during literacy acquisition. In the present longitudinal study, we examined language abilities, and neural activation and connectivity within the language network in pre-literate children (mean age = 4.2 years). We tested how language abilities, brain activation, and connectivity predict children's reading abilities 1 year later (mean age = 5.2 years). At Time 1, children (n = 37) participated in a functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) experiment of speech processing (listening to words and pseudowords) and completed a standardized battery of language and cognitive assessments. At Time 2, children (n = 28) completed standardized reading assessments. Using psychophysiological interaction (PPI) analyses, we observed significant connectivity between the left IFG and right STG in pre-literate children, which was modulated by task (i.e., listening to words). Neural activation in left IFG and STG and increased task-modulated connectivity between the left IFG and right STG was predictive of multiple reading outcomes. Increased connectivity was associated later with increased reading ability.

From BDNF to reading: Neural activation and phonological processing as multiple mediators.

The BDNF gene is a prominent promoter of neuronal development, maturation and plasticity. Its Val66Met polymorphism affects brain morphology and function within several areas and is associated with several cognitive functions and neurodevelopmental disorder susceptibility. Recently, it has been associated with reading, reading-related traits and altered neural activation in reading-related brain regions. However, it remains unknown if the intermediate phenotypes (IPs, such as brain activation and phonological skills) mediate the pathway from gene to reading or reading disability. By conducting a serial multiple mediation model in a sample of 94 children (age 5-13), our findings revealed no direct effects of genotype on reading. Instead, we found that genotype is associated with brain activation in reading-related and more domain general regions which in turn is associated with phonological processing which is associated with reading. These findings suggest that the BDNF-Val66Met polymorphism is related to reading via phonological processing and functional activation. These results support brain imaging data and neurocognitive traits as viable IPs for complex behaviors.

Prior reproductive experience modulates neural responses to infant faces across the postpartum period.

Infant-cue processing facilitates sensitive maternal care, which is necessary in the formation of healthy mother-infant attachment. Mothers may be particularly focused on cue processing early postpartum, contributing to intense preoccupation with their infant's well-being. Prior reproductive experience, or parity, may also impact the intensity of infant-cue processing and has been found to influence P300 neural responses to infant faces during pregnancy and at 2 months postpartum. However, we do not know whether this parity effect persists. Thus, we examined the P300 to infant faces in 59 mothers at 2 and 7 months postpartum. Our main finding was that primiparous, as compared to multiparous, women showed a significantly higher P300 to infant faces across the postpartum period. Findings further emphasize the importance of studying parity and its impact on the neural processing of infant faces.

Manifesto for new directions in developmental science.

Although developmental science has always been evolving, these times of fast-paced and profound social and scientific changes easily lead to disorienting fragmentation rather than coherent scientific advances. What directions should developmental science pursue to meaningfully address real-world problems that impact human development throughout the lifespan? What conceptual or policy shifts are needed to steer the field in these directions? The present manifesto is proposed by a group of scholars from various disciplines and perspectives within developmental science to spark conversations and action plans in response to these questions. After highlighting four critical content domains that merit concentrated and often urgent research efforts, two issues regarding "how" we do developmental science and "what for" are outlined. This manifesto concludes with five proposals, calling for integrative, inclusive, transdisciplinary, transparent, and actionable developmental science. Specific recommendations, prospects, pitfalls, and challenges to reach this goal are discussed.

Comparison of Neurocognitive Outcomes in Postoperative Adolescents with Unilateral Coronal Synostosis.

Unilateral coronal nonsyndromic craniosynostosis is associated with asymmetric skull growth, which may influence cerebral long-term function. Twenty affected adolescents who underwent cranial vault remodeling at a mean age of 8.2 months (12 from the Yale Craniofacial Clinic and eight from the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia) all completed a double-blinded neurodevelopmental assessment at an average age of 12.1 years. The study cohort included 55 percent female and 50 percent right-sided craniosynostosis. Mean verbal intelligence quotient was highest at 117.3, and mean performance intelligence quotient was 106.4, for a mean full-scale intelligence quotient of 112.5. Patients performed above the national average on all academic achievements except for numerical operations, which was significantly lower than word reading (p = 0.022). Patients performed below average on all Beery-Buktenica visual motor tests; motor-coordination was poorer than both visual motor integration and visual perception (p = 0.027 and p = 0.005). Significant positive correlations existed between paternal education/visual perception (r = 0.450; p = 0.046) and household income/verbal intelligence quotient (r = 0.628; p = 0.004). Patients with right unilateral coronal nonsyndromic craniosynostosis had improved spelling compared with left-sided patients on multivariate regression (p = 0.033). Female patients had higher motor coordination (p = 0.024). Breast-fed patients had better performance intelligence quotient (p = 0.024), visual motor integration (p = 0.014), and visual perception (p = 0.031). Adolescents who underwent cranial vault remodeling at two institutions had above average intelligence quotient scores, but worse mathematical and visual motor achievement compared with control subjects. Left-side craniosynostosis patients performed worse in spelling than right-side patients. Breast-feeding was an independent predictor for improved performance intelligence quotient, visual motor achievement, and visual perception performance. Study findings are limited by the cohort size. A larger population study is required, which could validate or modify the study conclusions.