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Abstract:
Individual differences in reading and phonological skills in
normal and dyslexic adults have been recently linked to activation
differences in regions of left perisylvian cortex. The aim of this
study was to examine such differences during the early years of
literacy acquisition and to extend this investigation to examine
the impact of a decoding skills intervention on reading skills and
patterns of cortical activation. Children with and without reading
and phonological skills impairments (7 to 10 years of age)
participated in an initial fMRI scan involving a repetition
detection (1 back) task with visual letter strings. Initial
comparisons between blocks of pronounceable vs. non-pronounceable
letter strings suggest that non-impaired children showed greater
left perisylvian activation for pronounceable strings, whereas
reading impaired children did not. Children were then randomly
assigned to a standardized 24-session word decoding skills
intervention program (McCandliss, et al, 1999) or a waiting-list
control group. Behavioral results indicated significant
intervention-based gains in reading and phonological skills,
suggesting a central role for decoding skills during early
literacy. A second set of identical scans conducted after the
intervention period provide a means of assessing the relationship
between changes in decoding skills and changes in functional
activation in left perisylvian areas.
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