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Shared neuroanatomical substrates of impaired phonological working memory across reading disability and autism.

ABSTRACT: Individuals with reading disability or individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are characterized, respectively, by their difficulties in reading or social communication, but both groups often have impaired phonological working memory (PWM). It is not known whether the impaired PWM reflects distinct or shared neuroanatomical abnormalities in these two diagnostic groups.White-matter structural connectivity via diffusion weighted imaging was examined in sixty-four children, ages 5-17 years, with reading disability, ASD, or typical development (TD), who were matched in age, gender, intelligence, and diffusion data quality.Children with reading disability and children with ASD exhibited reduced PWM compared to children with TD. The two diagnostic groups showed altered white-matter microstructure in the temporo-parietal portion of the left arcuate fasciculus (AF) and in the temporo-occipital portion of the right inferior longitudinal fasciculus (ILF), as indexed by reduced fractional anisotropy and increased radial diffusivity. Moreover, the structural integrity of the right ILF was positively correlated with PWM ability in the two diagnostic groups, but not in the TD group.These findings suggest that impaired PWM is transdiagnostically associated with shared neuroanatomical abnormalities in ASD and reading disability. Microstructural characteristics in left AF and right ILF may play important roles in the development of PWM. The right ILF may support a compensatory mechanism for children with impaired PWM.

SUBMITTER: Lu C

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4776338 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Shared neuroanatomical substrates of impaired phonological working memory across reading disability and autism.

Lu Chunming C Qi Zhenghan Z Harris Adrianne A Weil Lisa Wisman LW Han Michelle M Halverson Kelly K Perrachione Tyler K TK Kjelgaard Margaret M Wexler Kenneth K Tager-Flusberg Helen H Gabrieli John D E JD

Biological psychiatry. Cognitive neuroscience and neuroimaging 20160301 2

<h4>Background</h4>Individuals with reading disability or individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are characterized, respectively, by their difficulties in reading or social communication, but both groups often have impaired phonological working memory (PWM). It is not known whether the impaired PWM reflects distinct or shared neuroanatomical abnormalities in these two diagnostic groups.<h4>Methods</h4>White-matter structural connectivity via diffusion weighted imaging was examined in si ...[more]

PMID: 26949750

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Project description:BackgroundReading disability (RD) is characterized by slow and inaccurate word reading development, commonly reflecting underlying phonological problems. We have previously shown that exposure to white noise acutely improves cognitive performance in children with ADHD. The question addressed here is whether white noise exposure yields positive outcomes also for RD. There are theoretical reasons to expect such a possibility: a) RD and ADHD are two overlapping neurodevelopmental disorders and b) since prior research on white noise benefits has suggested that a central mechanism might be the phenomenon of stochastic resonance, then adding certain kinds of white noise might strengthen the signal-to-noise ratio during phonological processing and phoneme-grapheme mapping.MethodsThe study was conducted with a group of 30 children with RD and phonological decoding difficulties and two comparison groups: one consisting of skilled readers (n = 22) and another of children with mild orthographic reading problems and age adequate phonological decoding (n = 30). White noise was presented experimentally in visual and auditory modalities, while the children performed tests of single word reading, orthographic word recognition, nonword reading, and memory recall.ResultsFor the first time, we show that visual and auditory white noise exposure improves some reading and memory capacities "on the fly" in children with RD and phonological decoding difficulties. By contrast, the comparison groups displayed either no benefit or a gradual decrease in performance with increasing noise. In interviews, we also found that the white noise exposure was tolerable or even preferred by many children.ConclusionThese novel findings suggest that poor readers with phonological decoding difficulties may be immediately helped by white noise during reading. Future research is needed to determine the robustness, mechanisms, and long-term practical implications of the white noise benefits in children with reading disabilities.

Project description:UnlabelledWhile reading is challenging for many deaf individuals, some become proficient readers. Little is known about the component processes that support reading comprehension in these individuals. Speech-based phonological knowledge is one of the strongest predictors of reading comprehension in hearing individuals, yet its role in deaf readers is controversial. This could reflect the highly varied language backgrounds among deaf readers as well as the difficulty of disentangling the relative contribution of phonological versus orthographic knowledge of spoken language, in our case 'English,' in this population. Here we assessed the impact of language experience on reading comprehension in deaf readers by recruiting oral deaf individuals, who use spoken English as their primary mode of communication, and deaf native signers of American Sign Language. First, to address the contribution of spoken English phonological knowledge in deaf readers, we present novel tasks that evaluate phonological versus orthographic knowledge. Second, the impact of this knowledge, as well as memory measures that rely differentially on phonological (serial recall) and semantic (free recall) processing, on reading comprehension was evaluated. The best predictor of reading comprehension differed as a function of language experience, with free recall being a better predictor in deaf native signers than in oral deaf. In contrast, the measures of English phonological knowledge, independent of orthographic knowledge, best predicted reading comprehension in oral deaf individuals. These results suggest successful reading strategies differ across deaf readers as a function of their language experience, and highlight a possible alternative route to literacy in deaf native signers.Highlights1. Deaf individuals vary in their orthographic and phonological knowledge of English as a function of their language experience. 2. Reading comprehension was best predicted by different factors in oral deaf and deaf native signers. 3. Free recall memory (primacy effect) better predicted reading comprehension in deaf native signers as compared to oral deaf or hearing individuals. 4. Language experience should be taken into account when considering cognitive processes that mediate reading in deaf individuals.

Dataset Information

Shared neuroanatomical substrates of impaired phonological working memory across reading disability and autism.

Publications

Shared neuroanatomical substrates of impaired phonological working memory across reading disability and autism.

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