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Right is not always wrong: DTI and fMRI evidence for the reliance of reading comprehension on language-comprehension networks in the right hemisphere

  • SI: Developing Brain
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Abstract

The Simple View theory suggests that reading comprehension relies on automatic recognition of words combined with language comprehension. The goal of the current study was to examine the structural and functional connectivity in networks supporting reading comprehension and their relationship with language comprehension within 7-9 year old children using Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) and fMRI during a Sentence Picture Matching task. Fractional Anisotropy (FA) values in the left and right Inferior Longitudinal Fasciculus (ILF) and Superior Longitudinal Fasciculus (SLF), known language-related tracts, were correlated from DTI data with scores from the Woodcock-Johnson III (WJ-III) Passage Comprehension sub-test. Brodmann areas most proximal to white-matter regions with significant correlation to Passage Comprehension scores were chosen as Regions-of-Interest (ROIs) and used as seeds in a functional connectivity analysis using the Sentence Picture Matching task. The correlation between percentile scores for the WJ-III Passage Comprehension subtest and the FA values in the right and left ILF and SLF indicated positive correlation in language-related ROIs, with greater distribution in the right hemisphere, which in turn showed strong connectivity in the fMRI data from the Sentence Picture Matching task. These results support the participation of the right hemisphere in reading comprehension and may provide physiologic support for a distinction between different types of reading comprehension deficits vs difficulties in technical reading.

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Acknowledgments

Data presented in this work was obtained from the database provided by the Pediatric Functional Neuroimaging Research Network known as Cincinnati MR Imaging of Neuro-Development (CMIND) at https://research.cchmc.org/c-mind/. This Network and the resulting CMIND database were supported by a contract from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (HHSN275200900018C). The authors thank J. Denise Wetzel, CCHMC Medical Writer, for editing of the manuscript.

Conflict of interest

Tzipi Horowitz-Kraus, Molly Grainger, Mark DiFrancesco, Jennifer Vannest, Scott K. Holland, and the CMIND Authorship Consortium (Holland, Vannest, Schmithorst, Altaye, Lee, Hernandez-Garcia, Wagner, Toga, Levitt, Byars, Dimitrijevic, Felicelli, Kadis, Leach, Peariso, Plante, Rajagopal, Rupert, Schapiro, Ly, Petrosyan, Wang, and Freund) declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Informed consent

All procedures followed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation (institutional and national) and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, and the applicable revisions at the time of the investigation. Informed consent was obtained from all patients for being included in the study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Pediatric Neuroimaging Research Consortium, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, USA

    Tzipi Horowitz-Kraus, Molly Grainger, Mark DiFrancesco, Jennifer Vannest & Scott K. Holland

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  1. Tzipi Horowitz-Kraus
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  2. Molly Grainger
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  3. Mark DiFrancesco
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CMIND Authorship Consortium

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Correspondence to Tzipi Horowitz-Kraus.

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The CMIND (Cincinnati MR Imaging of NeuroDevelopment) Authorship Consortium

Scott K. Holland, PhD1,6,9,10

Jennifer Vannest, PhD1,5

Vincent J. Schmithorst, PhD1,2

Mekibib Altaye, PhD1,7

Gregory Lee, PhD1,6

Luis Hernandez-Garcia, PhD3

Michael Wagner, PhD1,8

Arthur Toga, PhD12,13

Jennifer Levitt, MD14

Anna W. Byars, PhD1,5

Andrew Dimitrijevic, PhD9,10

Nicolas Felicelli8

Darren Kadis, PhD1,5

James Leach, MD1,6

Katrina Peariso, MD, PhD5

Elena Plante, PhD4

Akila Rajagopal, MS1

Andrew Rupert, MS8

Mark Schapiro, MD1,5

Ronald Ly14

Petros Petrosyan12

JJ Wang, PhD11

Lisa Freund, PhD15

1Pediatric Neuroimaging Research Consortium, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH

2Pediatric Imaging Research Center, Dept. of Radiology, Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC, Pittsburgh, PA

3Functional MRI Laboratory, Dept. of Biomedical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI

4Dept. of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ

5Div. of Neurology, Dept. of Pediatrics, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH

6Dept. of Radiology, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH

7Div. of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Dept. of Pediatrics, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH

8Div. of Biomedical Informatics, Dept. of Pediatrics, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH

9Dept. of Otolaryngology, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH

10Communication Sciences Research Center, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH

11Dept. of Neurology, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA

12Laboratory of Neuroimaging, Keck School of Medicine of USC, Los Angeles, CA

13Departments of Ophthalmology, Neurology, Psychiatry, and the Behavioral Sciences, Radiology and Engineering, Keck School of Medicine of USC, Los Angeles, CA

14Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA

15Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Bethesda, MD

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Horowitz-Kraus, T., Grainger, M., DiFrancesco, M. et al. Right is not always wrong: DTI and fMRI evidence for the reliance of reading comprehension on language-comprehension networks in the right hemisphere. Brain Imaging and Behavior 9, 19–31 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11682-014-9341-9

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