Abstract
Background
Developmental dyslexia (DD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that is characterized by difficulties with all aspects of information acquisition in the written word, including slow and inaccurate word recognition. The neural basis behind DD has not been fully elucidated.
Method
The study included 22 typically developing (TD) children, 16 children with isolated spelling disorder (SpD), and 20 children with DD. The cortical thickness, folding index, and mean curvature of Broca’s area, including the triangular part of the left inferior frontal gyrus (IFGtriang) and the opercular part of the left inferior frontal gyrus, were assessed to explore the differences of surface morphology among the TD, SpD, and DD groups. Furthermore, the structural covariance network (SCN) of the triangular part of the left inferior frontal gyrus was analyzed to explore the changes of structural connectivity in the SpD and DD groups.
Results
The DD group showed higher curvature and cortical folding of the left IFGtriang than the TD group and SpD group. In addition, compared with the TD group and the SpD group, the structural connectivity between the left IFGtriang and the left middle-frontal gyrus and the right mid-orbital frontal gyrus was increased in the DD group, and the structural connectivity between the left IFGtriang and the right precuneus and anterior cingulate was decreased in the DD group.
Conclusion
DD had atypical structural connectivity in brain regions related to visual attention, memory and which might impact the information input and integration needed for reading and spelling.
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Data availability
Neuroimaging data was obtained from the open access dataset hosted on the OpenNeuro.org (https://doi.org/10.18112/openneuro.ds003126.v1.0.0), which is a free and open platform that allows researchers to upload and share neuroimaging data.
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Funding
This work was supported by the Natural Science Foundation of Fujian Province (2022J01880), the Scientific Research Foundation for the High-level Talents funded by Fujian University of Traditional Chinese Medicine (X2019002—talents), the Youth Science and Technology Innovation Cultivation Program by Fujian University of Traditional Chinese Medicine (XQC2023003), the Natural Science Foundation of Henan Province (222300420250), and the Municipal Science and Technology Plan Project of Nanyang City (JCQY009).
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LSX was responsible for the study concept and design. ZYS, HJY, HL, PLX, WXX, ZQQ, YJC, LZF, and SX were responsible for the data analyses. ZYS, HJY, and HL drafted the manuscript. LSX, SX, and ZY critically reviewed the manuscript. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.
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Zhang, Y., Huang, J., Huang, L. et al. Atypical characteristic changes of surface morphology and structural covariance network in developmental dyslexia. Neurol Sci 45, 2261–2270 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10072-023-07193-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10072-023-07193-x