From emergent literacy to reading: how learning to read changes a child's brain

Horowitz‐Kraus, Tzipi; Hutton, John

doi:10.1111/apa.13018

Cited by 60 publications

(59 citation statements)

References 66 publications

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“…The risk of developing learning difficulties in childhood has also been shown to be three times higher in children who were born preterm . This finding supports longitudinal neuroimaging studies that suggest that preterm birth features late maturation of the brain regions related to the frontal lobe and delays in connecting these frontal cortices to the parietal and occipital lobes , which play a critical role in both language and reading acquisition . This topic is extremely timely, as in vitro fertilisation techniques are increasingly being used.…”

supporting

confidence: 62%

The early signs of reading difficulties at school can start with foetal growth restriction

Horowitz‐Kraus

2017

Acta Paediatrica

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supporting

confidence: 62%

The early signs of reading difficulties at school can start with foetal growth restriction

Horowitz‐Kraus

2017

Acta Paediatrica

Self Cite

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“…This has been confirmed by studies on illiterate people, in whom less cerebral lateralization of language functions is observed, and in whom a similar phenomenon is suspected to exist within the scope of visual-spatial functions in comparison to literate people (Ardila et al, 2010). Researchers also claim that with the use of adequate exercises it is possible to change the cerebral organization of reading (Shaywitz, & Shaywitz, 2004;Horowitz-Kraus, & Hutton, 2015) and that the sole process of learning how to use script changes the cerebral organization of other functions, e.g., visual perception (James, Jao, & Berninger, 2016).…”

Section: Effects Of Learning To Read and Writementioning

confidence: 84%

The relationship between the impressive and the expressive component of written speech and the level of executive functions in children aged 3-11 years

Jabłoński¹

2017

L1 Educational Studies in Language and Literature

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From the perspective of Lev S. Vygotsky's theory, literacy develops as a tool for executing the task of communicating with the use of script and this, in consequence, results in the development of a new higher mental function-written speech (WS). Both components of this function improve in parallel with acquisition of reading and writing: the impressive component (comprehending the meaning of a written text) and the expressive component (conveying meaning in a written form). These components reflect two directions of one process of communication and are like 'two sides of the same coin'. Reading and writing demand not only written speech activity but also activity of other mental functions, especially those necessary for planning and controlling behavior which are known as executive functions (EF). Little is found about how EF and two components of WS interact between the age of 3 and 11 when they develop quickly. The main research hypotheses are that (1) the relative dominance of the impressive and the expressive component of written speech is different across age groups, and that (2) the level of EF development is connected to patterns of dominance between the impressive and the expressive component of WS. A database from a previous cross-sectional study of 1103 healthy, Polish speaking children between the age of 3 and 11 was used for exploratory analysis of the EF-WS relationship. The subjects were examined with the use of the Literacy Assessment Battery and the paradigm of dimensional change card sort. The conducted analyses of the results confirmed both research hypotheses. Differences in the relative dominance of either the impressive or the expressive component of WS suggest that advances in the reading ability and in the writing ability cannot have the same dynamics. In turn, the level of EF development seems to predict the relation between both WS components most strongly in the age periods where the most dynamic progress in inhibitory control or cognitive flexibility takes place. Further longitudinal studies with a wider range of EF measures, which would give an opportunity to explore causal relations between EF and WS, could be promising, especially in view of identification of literacy development factors.

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“…The participant in this study also demonstrated a similar pattern, with large clusters and intense activity in the frontal and parietal regions, as seen in the acquisition of a second language in adulthood. These activations in the frontal areas may be associated with a support system for learning, with the greater use of executive functions of self‐monitoring and executive attention (Horowitz‐Kraus & Hutton, ). Indeed, the participant showed intense bilateral activation in three areas related to effortful attention and learning: the superior parietal lobule, the posterior‐medial frontal, and the superior frontal gyri.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tracking Adult Literacy Acquisition With Functional MRI: A Single‐Case Study

Braga

Amemiya

Tauil

et al. 2017

Mind Brain and Education

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ABSTRACT-We evaluated neuro-functional changes associated with late acquisition of reading in an illiterate adult who underwent 20 longitudinal functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scans during 2 years, while the participant progressed from complete illiteracy to a modest level of alphabetical decoding. Initially, the participant did not activate neural circuits for reading when he was exposed to words; gradually, however, he began to present activation in left occipitotemporal cortex, at the visual word form area. This increase was accompanied by a decrease in face responses. Reading-related responses also emerged in language-related areas of the inferior frontal gyrus and temporal lobe. Additional activations in superior parietal lobe, superior frontal gyrus and posterior medial frontal cortex suggested that reading remained dependent on effortful executive attention and working memory processes. Nevertheless, the results indicate that adult plasticity can be sufficient to induce rapid changes in brain responses to written words and faces in an unschooled and illiterate adult.

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From emergent literacy to reading: how learning to read changes a child's brain

Abstract: Behavioural and neuroimaging correlates for linguistic ability and literacy exposure support the engagement of neural circuits related to reading acquisition.

Cited by 60 publications

References 66 publications

The early signs of reading difficulties at school can start with foetal growth restriction

The early signs of reading difficulties at school can start with foetal growth restriction

The relationship between the impressive and the expressive component of written speech and the level of executive functions in children aged 3-11 years

Tracking Adult Literacy Acquisition With Functional MRI: A Single‐Case Study

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