Myelin plasticity during early literacy training in at-risk pre-readers

Economou, Maria; Bempt, Femke Vanden; Herck, Shauni Van; Wouters, Jan; Ghesquière, Pol; Vanderauwera, Jolijn; Vandermosten, Maaike

doi:10.1016/j.cortex.2023.05.023

Cited by 4 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 73 publications

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“…Unfortunately, the low angular resolution and weak single-shelled diffusion weighting of the present DWI acquisition scheme were not well-suited for these more novel approaches (Genc et al, 2020), effectively limiting us to using DTI metrics. Outside of DWI, related white matter neuroimaging sequences, such as myelin water imaging and quantitative T1 imaging, may provide more targeted insights into learning-driven plasticity in reading (Economou et al, 2023; Huber et al, 2021). Future longitudinal studies should consider incorporating these techniques.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

White Matter Microstructural Plasticity Associated with Educational Intervention in Reading Disability

Meisler,

Gabrieli,

Christodoulou

2023

Preprint

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Children’s reading progress typically slows during extended breaks in formal education, such as summer vacations. This stagnation can be especially concerning for children with learning disabilities, such as dyslexia, because of the potential to exacerbate the skills gap between them and their peers. Reading interventions can prevent skill loss and even lead to appreciable gains in reading ability during the summer. White matter connections enable communication among the brain regions required for proficient reading. Longitudinal neuroimaging studies relating intervention response to white matter microstructural changes are scarce but can reveal educationally relevant insights into rapid learning-driven brain plasticity. We collected reading scores and diffusion-weighted images at the beginning and end of summer for 41 children with reading disabilities who had completed either 1st or 2nd grade. Children were randomly assigned to receive an intensive reading intervention (n= 26) or a waiting control group (n= 15), enabling us to analyze how white matter properties varied across a wide spectrum of skill development and regression trajectories. On average, the intervention group had larger gains in reading compared to the non-intervention group, who declined in reading scores. Improvements on a proximal (but not distal) reading measure were associated with decreases in mean diffusivity within core reading brain circuitry (left arcuate fasciculus and left inferior longitudinal fasciculus) and increases in fractional anisotropy in the left corticospinal tract. Our findings suggest that responses to intensive reading instruction are related predominantly to white matter plasticity in tracts most associated with reading.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

White Matter Microstructural Plasticity Associated with Educational Intervention in Reading Disability

Meisler,

Gabrieli,

Christodoulou

2023

Preprint

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Assessing white matter plasticity in a randomized controlled trial of early literacy training in preschoolers

Caffarra,

Karipidis,

Kruper

et al. 2024

Preprint

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Reading is a cognitive skill that requires our brain to go through a myriad of changes during learning. While many studies have described how reading acquisition shapes childrens' brain function, less is known about the impact of reading on brain structure. Here we examined short-term causal effects of reading training on preschoolers' behavior and white matter structure. Forty-eight English-speaking preschoolers (4y10m to 6y2m) participated in a randomized controlled trial where they were randomly assigned to two training programs: the Letter training program was focused on key skills for reading (e.g., decoding and letter knowledge), while the Language training program strengthened oral language comprehension skills without exposure to text. Longitudinal behavioral data showed that only the Letter Training group increased letter knowledge and decoding skills after the two-week training. Diffusion MRI measures (FA and MD) of eighteen white matter pathways (including the left arcuate and the left inferior longitudinal fasciculus) did not reveal any statistically significant changes for either group despite high degrees of scan-rescan reliability across sessions. These findings suggest that a two-week reading training program can cause changes in preschoolers' letter knowledge and decoding abilities, without being accompanied by measurable changes in the diffusion properties of the major white matter pathways of the reading network. We conclude highlighting possible constraints (i.e., age, training onset and duration, cognitive profile) to reading-related white matter plasticity.

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The role of formal schooling in the development of children's reading and arithmetic white matter networks

Vandecruys,

Vandermosten,

De Smedt

2024

Developmental Science

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Children's white matter development is driven by experience, yet it remains poorly understood how it is shaped by attending formal education. A small number of studies compared children before and after the start of formal schooling to understand this, yet they do not allow to separate maturational effects from schooling‐related effects. A clever way to (quasi‐)experimentally address this issue is the longitudinal school cut‐off design, which compares children who are similar in age but differ in schooling (because they are born right before or after the cut‐off date for school entry). We used for the first time such a longitudinal school cut‐off design to experimentally investigate the effect of schooling on children's white matter networks. We compared “young” first graders (schooling group, n = 34; Mage = 68 months; 20 girls) and “old” preschoolers (non‐schooling group, n = 33; Mage = 66 months; 18 girls) that were similar in age but differed in the amount of formal instruction they received. Our study revealed that changes in fractional anisotropy and mean diffusivity in five a priori selected white matter tracts during the transition from preschool to primary school were predominantly driven by age‐related maturation. We did not find specific schooling effects on white matter, despite their strong presence for early reading and early arithmetic skills. The present study is the first to disentangle the effects of age‐related maturation and schooling on white matter within a longitudinal cohort of 5‐year‐old preschoolers.Research Highlights White matter tracts that have been associated with reading and arithmetic may be susceptible to experience‐dependent neuroplasticity when children learn to read and calculate. This longitudinal study used the school cut‐off design to isolate schooling‐induced from coinciding maturational influences on children's white matter development. White matter changes during the transition from preschool to primary school are predominantly driven by age‐related maturation and not by schooling effects. Strong effects of schooling on behavior were shown for early reading and early arithmetic, but not for verbal ability and spatial ability.

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Myelin plasticity during early literacy training in at-risk pre-readers

Cited by 4 publications

References 73 publications

White Matter Microstructural Plasticity Associated with Educational Intervention in Reading Disability

White Matter Microstructural Plasticity Associated with Educational Intervention in Reading Disability

Assessing white matter plasticity in a randomized controlled trial of early literacy training in preschoolers

The role of formal schooling in the development of children's reading and arithmetic white matter networks

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