Stroke disconnectome decodes reading networks

Abstract

Cognitive functional neuroimaging has been around for over 30 years and has shed light on the brain areas relevant for reading. However, new methodological developments enable mapping the interaction between functional imaging and the underlying white matter networks. In this study, we used such a novel method, called the disconnectome, to decode the reading circuitry in the brain. We used the resulting disconnection patterns to predict a typical lesion that would lead to reading deficits after brain damage. Our results suggest that white matter connections critical for reading include fronto-parietal U-shaped fibres and the vertical occipital fasciculus (VOF). The lesion most predictive of a reading deficit would impinge on the left temporal, occipital, and inferior parietal gyri. This novel framework can systematically be applied to bridge the gap between the neuropathology of language and cognitive neuroscience.

Harnessing Advanced Tractography in Neurosurgical Practice

“…This comparative analysis is vital for the validation of tractography outcomes. A significant indicator of tractography's precision is when the imaged infiltration of white matter tracts corresponds with cognitive impairments, as predicted by the tracts' known functions (Forkel et al, 2022). Such congruence lends substantial credence to tractography's findings.…”

Tractometry of Human Visual White Matter Pathways in Health and Disease

“…Broce and colleagues (2019) 221 performed a dMRI study on children and identified that the VOF is involved with early literacy skills of phonological awareness and decoding. The link between the VOF and reading was also identified in a meta-analysis study on stroke, 222 a study predicting reading-related fMRI signal in the ventral occipito-temporal cortex from dMRI data, 223 and a study investigating the relationship between the hierarchical functional organization of the ventral occipito-temporal cortex and white matter tracts. 224 …”

Longitudinal prediction of motor dysfunction after stroke: a disconnectome study

“…When comparing those methods, the disconnection analysis often explains more variance in data than lesion load analysis (Corbetta et al 2015; Hope et al 2016). The disconnection analysis (Conrad et al, 2022; Hajhajate et al, 2022; Forkel et al 2022); Souter et al, 2022; Silvestri et al, 2022; Sperber et al, 2022) is different from the lesion network symptom mapping methods that estimate from a normative dataset the functional connectivity impaired by a lesion (Boes et al 2015; Bowren et al, 2022; Cototvio et al, 2022). Thus, prediction studies may benefit from the redirection of the focus in clinical research from lesion localisation analysis to the analysis of the disconnections where remote alterations of a focal damage to distant regions can also be considered as a contributor to a network of structures and functions.…”