Neural correlates of cognitive control deficits in children with reading disorder

Abstract

Reading disorder (RD) is characterized by deficient phonological processing, but children with RD also have cognitive control deficits, the neural correlates of which are not fully understood. We used fMRI to assess neural activity during the resolution of cognitive conflict on the Simon Spatial Incompatibility task and patterns of resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) from task control (TC) regions in 7-12-year-old children with RD compared to their typically developing (TD) peers. Relative to TD children (n=17), those with RD (n=16) over-engaged a right superior/medial frontal cluster during the resolution of conflict (p=.05). Relative to TD children (n=18), those with RD (n=17) also showed reduced RSFC (voxel-wise p<.001; cluster-size p<.05, FDR corrected) from cingulo-opercular seeds to left hemisphere fronto-parietal and temporo-parietal readingrelated regions, perhaps reflecting reduced organization of TC circuits and reduced integration with reading-related regions. Children with RD additionally showed reduced RSFC between fronto-parietal and default mode network regions. Follow-up analyses in a subset of children with both useable task and resting state data (RD=13; TD=17) revealed that greater conflict-related activation of the right frontal Simon task ROI associated with better word-reading, perhaps suggesting a compensatory role for this over-engagement. Connectivity from fronto-parietal seeds significantly associated with Simon task performance and word-reading accuracy in RD children. These findings suggest that altered functioning and connectivity of control circuits may contribute to cognitive control deficits in children with RD. Future studies should assess the utility of adding cognitive control training to reading remediation programs.

Frontoparietal and default mode network connectivity varies with age and intelligence

“…Like prior findings, we observed an inverse association between age and FP-DMN network connectivity ( Chai et al, 2014 ). However, in contrast to prior findings ( Margolis et al, 2019 ; Koyama et al, 2013 ), we observed near-zero, rather than positive connectivity values in the youngest age group. Specifically, our findings indicate that youth in early childhood demonstrate highly variable connectivity that averages to near-zero between some regions in the DMN and FP (frontomedial cortex-IFG, precuneus-IFG, frontal pole – precentral gyrus) while other regions show early anticorrelations (frontal pole – IFG).…”

“…As we were specifically interested in how FP-DMN connectivity might become more anticorrelated (negative) with age, we used aCompCor to regress out signal from white matter and cerebrospinal fluid. Two of the prior studies that reported positive FP-DMN findings in young children used aCompCor ( Margolis et al, 2019 ; Chai et al, 2014 ). One used global signal regression ( Koyama et al, 2013 ) but nevertheless still reported positive FP-DMN connectivity.…”

“…Rather, in children, patterns of anticorrelation between these networks may develop over time, possibly mirroring children’s increasing ability to focus on and execute tasks independently with increasing age ( Gur et al, 2012 ; Roalf et al, 2014 ; Piaget, 1952 ; Marsh et al, 2008 ; Luna et al, 2015 ). Prior findings show that the FP (task positive) and DMN (task negative) show positive connectivity in children ages 7–12 ( Margolis et al, 2019 ; Koyama et al, 2013 ; Chai et al, 2014 ). Moreover, the FP and DMN are more anticorrelated at older ages, such that children (ages 8–12) show positive connectivity, adolescents (ages 13–17) show mixed positive and negative connectivity, and adults (ages 18–24) show negative (anticorrelated) connectivity ( Chai et al, 2014 ).…”

“…As prior findings show positive connectivity between the DMN and the FP ( Margolis et al, 2019 ; Koyama et al, 2013 ; Chai et al, 2014 ), we specifically focused our analyses on FP-DMN connectivity in a sample of 133 healthy youth ranging from 7 to 25 years old. We hypothesized that FP-DMN connectivity would be more anticorrelated at older ages, consistent with prior findings ( Margolis et al, 2019 ; Koyama et al, 2013 ; Chai et al, 2014 ; Sherman et al, 2014 ; Fair et al, 2008 ). Further, we hypothesized that youth with more adult-like FP-DMN connectivity (i.e., more anticorrelated) would demonstrate higher intellectual functioning than youth with less adult-like FP-DMN connectivity (i.e., less anticorrelated).…”

Functional MRI-Specific Alterations in Executive Control Network in Mild Cognitive Impairment: An ALE Meta-Analysis

“…These specific regions are located in the frontal-parietal cognitive/attention network (involved in many cognitive tasks, cognitive control, learning and planning, etc.) (Margolis et al, 2019). Based on resting-state functional connectivity and graph theory analysis, a two-system model for cognitive control, including FPN and the cingulo-opercular network, is proposed as the commanders of the brain (Cignetti et al, 2018).…”