Research article summary (published 2 Nov 2007):

Developmental increases in effective connectivity to brain regions involved in phonological processing during tasks with orthographic demands.

Full Abstract

Developmental differences (9- to 15-year-olds) in effective connectivity in left hemisphere regions were examined using dynamic causal modeling (DCM) of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data. Children completed spelling tasks in the visual and auditory modalities in which they were asked to determine if two words were spelled the same from the first vowel onwards. Intrinsic (anatomical) connections were strongest from primary cortical regions to unimodal association areas - from Heschl's gyrus to superior temporal gyrus for the auditory spelling task and from calcarine to fusiform gyrus for the visual spelling task. The modulatory (experimental) effect for the visual spelling task from calcarine to superior temporal gyrus was stronger than all other effects from calcarine and this effect showed a developmental increase, suggesting automatic activation of phonology that increased with age. The modulatory effect from Heschl's gyrus to dorsal inferior frontal gyrus also showed a developmental increase, suggesting age-related increases in phonological segmentation in verbal working memory. All together, these results suggest that there are developmental increases in automatic access into brain regions involved in phonological processing in tasks that require orthographic processing.

Author information

Author/s: Booth, James R (JR); Mehdiratta, Nitin (N); Burman, Douglas D (DD); Bitan, Tali (T);

Affiliation: Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA. j-booth(-atsign-)northwestern.edu

Grants: DC06149 (Agency:NIDCD NIH HHS) ; HD042049 (Agency:NICHD NIH HHS) ; R01 HD042049-05A2 (Agency:NICHD NIH HHS)

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article; Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

Journal: Brain research (Brain Res), published in Netherlands. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2008-Jan; vol 1189 (issue ) : pp 78-89

Dates: Created 2008/01/14; Completed 2008/06/02; Revised 2009/06/10;

PMID: 18068690, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 6/11/2009, IMS Date: )

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

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MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Acoustic Stimulation Adolescent Aging - physiology Auditory Cortex - anatomy & histology; growth & development Brain Mapping Cerebral Cortex - anatomy & histology; growth & development Child Efferent Pathways - anatomy & histology; growth & development Female Frontal Lobe - anatomy & histology; growth & development Functional Laterality - physiology Humans

Language Language Tests Magnetic Resonance Imaging Male Memory, Short-Term - physiology Nerve Net - anatomy & histology; growth & development Phonetics Photic Stimulation Speech Perception - physiology Verbal Behavior - physiology Visual Cortex - anatomy & histology; growth & development Visual Perception - physiology

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