Cerebellum-cingulo-opercular network connectivity strengthens in adolescence and supports attention efficiency only in childhood.

Posterior cerebellar lobules are active during executive function (EF) tasks and are functionally connected to EF-associated cortical networks such as the fronto-parietal network (FPN) and cingulo-opercular network (CON). Despite evidence that EF and cerebello-cortical connectivity develop on a similar time scale, developmental relationships between EFs and cerebello-cortical connectivity have not been directly investigated. We therefore examined relationships between cerebello-cortical connectivity and EF performance in a typically developing sample ages 8 - 21. Resting-state functional connectivity between posterior cerebellum and FPN (middle frontal gyrus, posterior parietal lobules)/CON (anterior cingulate, insula) was computed using independent components analysis. Using conditional process models, we tested the hypothesis that cerebellum - PFC connectivity would mediate the relationship between FPN/CON and EF, and that cerebello-cortical connectivity, and connectivity - EF relationships, would become stronger with increasing age. Cerebellum - CON connectivity strengthened with age, but a relationship between cerebellum - anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) connectivity and attention efficiency was significant only in younger children. Results suggest that during childhood, the posterior cerebellum and ACC may support sustained and executive attention, though age has a stronger effect on EF. These findings may help to guide further studies of executive dysfunction in neurodevelopmental disorders.

How you read affects what you gain: Individual differences in the functional organization of the reading system predict intervention gains in children with reading disabilities.

There is now considerable evidence regarding the types of interventions that are effective at remediating reading disabilities on average. It is generally unclear, however, what predicts the magnitude of individual-level change following a given intervention. We examine new predictors of intervention gains that are theoretically grounded in computational models of reading and focus on individual differences in the functional organization of the reading system. Specifically, we estimate the extent to which children with reading disabilities (n=118 3rd-4th graders) rely on two sources of information during an oral word reading task - print-speech correspondences and semantic imageability - before and after a phonologically-weighted intervention. We show that children who relied more on print-speech regularities and less on imageability pre-intervention had better intervention gains. In parallel, children who over the course of the intervention exhibited greater increases in their reliance on print-speech correspondences and greater decreases in their reliance on imageability had better intervention outcomes. Importantly, these two factors were differentially related to specific reading task outcomes, with greater reliance on print-speech correspondences associated with pseudoword naming, while (lesser) reliance on imageability related to word reading and comprehension. We discuss the implications of these findings for theoretical models of reading acquisition and educational practice.

Quantifying the regularities between orthography and semantics and their impact on group- and individual-level behavior.

Statistical views of reading highlight the link between proficient literacy and the assimilation of various regularities embedded in writing systems, including those in the mapping between print and meaning. Still, orthographic-semantic (O-S) regularities remain relatively understudied, with open questions regarding 3 issues: (a) how O-S regularities should be quantified, (b) how they impact the behavior of proficient readers, and (c) whether individual differences in sensitivity to these regularities predict reading skills. The goal of the current article is to address these questions. We start by reviewing previous studies estimating print-meaning regularities, where orthography-to-semantics consistency (OSC) is defined as the mean semantic similarity between a word and its orthographic neighbors. While we adopt this general strategy, we identify a potential confound in previous operational definitions. We therefore offer a modified measure, which we use to examine group-level OSC effects in available data sets of single word recognition and reading for comprehension. Our findings validate the existence of OSC effects but reveal variation across tasks, with OSC effects emerging more strongly in tasks involving a direct mapping of print to meaning. Next, we present a reanalysis of word naming data from 399 second through fifth graders, where we examine individual differences in reliance on O-S regularities and their relation to participants' reading skills. We show that early readers whose naming accuracy is more influenced by OSC (i.e., those who rely more on O-S) have better passage comprehension abilities. We conclude by discussing the role of O-S regularities in proficient reading and literacy acquisition. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Patterns of Cognition, Communication, and Adaptive Behavior in Children With Developmental Disabilities.

Young children with developmental disabilities (DD) exhibit a range of strengths and weaknesses in cognitive, language, and adaptive skills. Identifying individual patterns of abilities across these domains is important for informing interventions. This study examines how 129 toddlers with significant developmental delays and less than 10 spoken words perform across different developmental domains and assessment methods (i.e., caregiver report and clinician-administered tests). Children exhibited statistically and clinically meaningful strengths and weaknesses across developmental domains, which may have important implications for differential interventions. Caregiver-reported and clinician-rated measures of cognition, language and adaptive functioning were highly related. However, the relation between caregiver report and clinician ratings was weaker for a subgroup of children with relatively more limited expressive language compared to other children in the sample.

Functional Connectivity Networks and Their Recruitment During Working Memory Tasks in Adult Survivors of Childhood Brain Tumors.

Background: Assessments of functional connectivity of default mode network (DMN) and positive task-related networks (TRNs) using independent component analysis (ICA) may help describe long-term effects of childhood brain tumors and adjuvant treatments. Methods: Aiming to identify potential neuronal markers that may aid in prognosis and inform interventions to optimize outcomes, this study used ICA to evaluate the presence of functional connectivity networks and their recruitment during a letter n-back task in 23 adult survivors of childhood posterior fossa tumors (9 low grade, 14 high grade) at least 5 years past diagnosis compared with 40 age- and sex-matched healthy peers. Results: DMN components generally demonstrated increasing disengagement as task difficulty increased, and relationships between effective DMN disengagement and improved performance were observed in healthy controls (HCs). Low-grade brain tumor survivors (LGS) demonstrated unique patterns in DMN recruitment that suggested increased involvement of the medial prefrontal cortex in LGS during tasks. TRN components generally demonstrated increasing engagement, which was related to improved task performance in HCs for one executive control network (ECN) component. High-grade brain tumor survivors (HGS) demonstrated distinct challenges recruiting an ECN component at more difficult task levels and showed a relationship between recruitment of another ECN component and task performance, indicating a potential compensatory mechanism for some HGS. Conclusions: Findings suggest the importance of cognitive intervention in both survivor groups and the necessity to track LGS despite their cognitive abilities often resembling those of their healthy peers. Impact statement Distinct functional connectivity patterns were identified between both adult survivor of childhood brain tumor groups and peers during attention and working memory tasks, reflecting different damage and recovery from treatment. Survivors of low-grade tumors demonstrated unique patterns of recruitment of default mode network components in the context of similar cognitive abilities, whereas survivors of high-grade tumors demonstrated poorer cognitive abilities and may be utilizing compensatory executive control network components in the face of challenging tasks. Long-term clinical follow-up and cognitive remediation is warranted for both groups, including low grade cerebellar tumor patients who have traditionally not been monitored as closely.

Individual differences in learning the regularities between orthography, phonology and semantics predict early reading skills.

Statistical views of literacy development maintain that proficient reading requires the assimilation of myriad statistical regularities present in the writing system. Indeed, previous studies have tied statistical learning (SL) abilities to reading skills, establishing the existence of a link between the two. However, some issues are currently left unanswered, including questions regarding the underlying bases for these associations as well as the types of statistical regularities actually assimilated by developing readers. Here we present an alternative approach to study the role of SL in literacy development, focusing on individual differences among beginning readers. Instead of using an artificial task to estimate SL abilities, our approach identifies individual differences in children's reliance on statistical regularities as reflected by actual reading behavior. We specifically focus on individuals' reliance on regularities in the mapping between print and speech versus associations between print and meaning in a word naming task. We present data from 399 children, showing that those whose oral naming performance is impacted more by print-speech regularities and less by associations between print and meaning have better reading skills. These findings suggest that a key route by which SL mechanisms impact developing reading abilities is via their role in the assimilation of sub-lexical regularities between printed and spoken language -and more generally, in detecting regularities that are more reliable than others. We discuss the implications of our findings to both SL and reading theories.

Strength of resting state functional connectivity and local GABA concentrations predict oral reading of real and pseudo-words.

Reading is a learned activity that engages multiple cognitive systems. In a cohort of typical and struggling adult readers we show evidence that successful oral reading of real words is related to gamma-amino-butyric acid (GABA) concentration in the higher-order language system, whereas reading of unfamiliar pseudo-words is not related to GABA in this system. We also demonstrate the capability of resting state functional connectivity (rsFC) combined with GABA measures to predict single real word compared to pseudo-word reading performance. Results show that the strength of rsFC between left fusiform gyrus (L-FG) and higher-order language systems predicts oral reading behavior of real words, irrespective of the local concentration of GABA. On the other hand, pseudo-words, which require grapheme-to-phoneme conversion, are not predicted by the connection between L-FG and higher-order language system. This suggests that L-FG may have a multi-functional role: lexical processing of real words and grapheme-to-phoneme processing of pseudo-words. Additionally, rsFC between L-FG, pre-motor, and putamen areas are positively related to the oral reading of both real and pseudo-words, suggesting that text may be converted into a phoneme sequence for speech initiation and production regardless of whether the stimulus is a real word or pseudo-word. In summary, from a systems neuroscience perspective, we show that: (i) strong rsFC between higher order visual, language, and pre-motor areas can predict and differentiate efficient oral reading of real and pseudo-words. (ii) GABA measures, along with rsFC, help to further differentiate the neural pathways for previously learned real words versus unfamiliar pseudo-words.

Psychometric properties of the Saint Louis University Mental Status Examination.

The Saint Louis University Mental Status (SLUMS) Examination is a brief screening measure for mild neurocognitive disorder developed for use with veterans. To date, there has been a paucity of research on its psychometric properties. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the psychometric properties of the SLUMS in a referred sample to a specialty clinic. Using a sample of 148 male veterans referred to a Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) Clinic for evaluation, the ability of the SLUMS to discriminate between MCI versus Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) or no diagnosis was compared to results from a more comprehensive neuropsychological battery. The SLUMS was significantly correlated with every neuropsychological measure (r = .25 to .46), except for Trails B (r = .14). Diagnostic discriminability was comparable to a typical, longer, neuropsychological battery for discriminating between MCI and no diagnosis, and between MCI and MDD. The study provides additional psychometric support for the SLUMS as a viable brief cognitive screening measure in veteran populations, particularly when discriminating between MCI and MDD.

Retrospective Correction of Physiological Noise: Impact on Sensitivity, Specificity, and Reproducibility of Resting-State Functional Connectivity in a Reading Network Model.

It is well accepted that physiological noise (PN) obscures the detection of neural fluctuations in resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) magnetic resonance imaging. However, a clear consensus for an optimal PN correction (PNC) methodology and how it can impact the rsFC signal characteristics is still lacking. In this study, we probe the impact of three PNC methods: RETROICOR: (Glover et al., 2000 ), ANATICOR: (Jo et al., 2010 ), and RVTMBPM: (Bianciardi et al., 2009 ). Using a reading network model, we systematically explore the effects of PNC optimization on sensitivity, specificity, and reproducibility of rsFC signals. In terms of specificity, ANATICOR was found to be effective in removing local white matter (WM) fluctuations and also resulted in aggressive removal of expected cortical-to-subcortical functional connections. The ability of RETROICOR to remove PN was equivalent to removal of simulated random PN such that it artificially inflated the connection strength, thereby decreasing sensitivity. RVTMBPM maintained specificity and sensitivity by balanced removal of vasodilatory PN and local WM nuisance edges. Another aspect of this work was exploring the effects of PNC on identifying reading group differences. Most PNC methods accounted for between-subject PN variability resulting in reduced intersession reproducibility. This effect facilitated the detection of the most consistent group differences. RVTMBPM was most effective in detecting significant group differences due to its inherent sensitivity to removing spatially structured and temporally repeating PN arising from dense vasculature. Finally, results suggest that combining all three PNC resulted in "overcorrection" by removing signal along with noise.

Early intervention for children at risk for reading disabilities: The impact of grade at intervention and individual differences on intervention outcomes.

Across multiple schools in three sites, the impact of grade-at-intervention was evaluated for children at risk or meeting criteria for reading disabilities. A multiple-component reading intervention with demonstrated efficacy was offered to small groups of children in 1st, 2nd, or 3rd grade. In a quasi-experimental design, 172 children received the Triple-Focus Program (PHAST + RAVE-O), and 47 were control participants. Change during intervention and 1-3 years later (6-8 testing points), and the influence of individual differences in predicting outcomes, were assessed using reading and reading-related repeated measures. Intervention children out-performed control children at posttest on all 14 outcomes, with average effect sizes (Cohen's d) on standardized measures of .80 and on experimental measures of 1.69. On foundational word reading skills (standardized measures), children who received intervention earlier, in 1st and 2nd grade, made gains relative to controls almost twice that of children receiving intervention in 3rd grade. At follow-up, the advantage of 1st grade intervention was even clearer: First graders continued to grow at faster rates over the follow-up years than 2nd graders on six of eight key reading outcomes. For some outcomes with metalinguistic demands beyond the phonological, however, a posttest advantage was revealed for 2nd grade Triple participants and for 3rd grade Triple participants relative to controls. Estimated IQ predicted growth during intervention on seven of eight outcomes. Growth during follow-up was predicted by vocabulary and visual sequential memory. These findings provide evidence on the importance of early intensive evidence-based intervention for reading problems in the primary grades.

Testing Math or Testing Language? The Construct Validity of the KeyMath-Revised for Children With Intellectual Disability and Language Difficulties.

Although it is often assumed that mathematics ability alone predicts mathematics test performance, linguistic demands may also predict achievement. This study examined the role of language in mathematics assessment performance for children with intellectual disability (ID) at less severe levels, on the KeyMath-Revised Inventory (KM-R) with a sample of 264 children, in grades 2-5. Using confirmatory factor analysis, the hypothesis that the KM-R would demonstrate discriminant validity with measures of language abilities in a two-factor model was compared to two plausible alternative models. Results indicated that KM-R did not have discriminant validity with measures of children's language abilities and was a multidimensional test of both mathematics and language abilities for this population of test users. Implications are considered for test development, interpretation, and intervention.

Effects of phonological awareness and naming speed on mathematics skills in children with mild intellectual disabilities.

OBJECTIVE: Both phonological awareness (PA) and naming speed have been identified as two skills related to the development of mathematics skills for children with and without learning disabilities. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the relationships between PA and colour naming speed for 265 elementary school students with mild intellectual disabilities (MID). METHODS: Participants were assessed using the Comprehensive Test of Phonological Processes and the KeyMath Revised Diagnostic Inventory of Essential Mathematics. RESULTS: Hierarchical regression analyses accounting for the effects of age indicated that children with MID rely on both PA and naming speed when solving mathematics problems, although PA was the more robust indicator of the two. CONCLUSION: As a whole, these results suggest that children with intellectual disabilities evidence the same types of reading and math relationships as shown for other populations of children.

Reading skill in adult survivors of childhood brain tumor: a theory-based neurocognitive model.

OBJECTIVE: This study investigated the relationship between word reading and white matter (WM) integrity within a neuroanatomical-based reading system comparing adult survivors of childhood brain tumors and controls. It was predicted that the association between WM integrity and word reading would be mediated by processing speed, and this indirect effect would be moderated by group. METHOD: Thirty-seven adult survivors of childhood brain tumor and typically developing adults participated (age M = 24.19 ± 4.51 years, 62% female). DTI Tractography identified the WM tract for 3 of the reading system connections: inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus (IFOF), arcuate fasciculus (AF), and parietotemporal-occipitotemporal connection (PT-OT). RESULTS: Fractional anisotropy values (FA) of the PT-OT tract were significantly correlated with word reading in survivors and controls (r = .45, .58, respectively; p < .05) and IFOF values were associated with reading in survivors only (r = .59, p < .01). Further, the moderated mediated model was significant for PT-OT and IFOF, such that the indirect effect of processing speed was only present for survivors (CI: PT-OT: 2.90, 28.41, IFOF: 2.92, 40.17). CONCLUSION: Results suggest the tracts emerging from the occipitotemporal area are a critical component of the reading system in adults. The finding that processing speed was the mechanism by which WM was associated with reading in survivors is in alignment with the developmental cascade model. Current findings bolster the existing theory-based models of reading using innovative diffusion tensor imaging and moderated mediation statistical neurodevelopmental model, establishing the role of processing speed and specific WM pathway integrity in word reading skill.

Reading, laterality, and the brain: early contributions on reading disabilities by Sara S. Sparrow.

Although best known for work with children and adults with intellectual disabilities and autism spectrum disorders, training in speech pathology and a doctorate in clinical psychology and neuropsychology was the foundation for Sara Sparrow's long-term interest in reading disabilities. Her first papers were on dyslexia and laterality, and the maturational lag theory of developmental dyslexia proposed with Paul Satz, her mentor. The research program that emerged from this work had a wide impact on early neuropsychological models of reading disabilities. Although Sara went on to research focused on children with other developmental disabilities after she moved to Yale University, this initial research influenced her career- long interests in assessment, developmental models of disabilities, and early screening methods.

A model of phonological processing, language, and reading for students with mild intellectual disability.

Little is known about the relationships between phonological processing, language, and reading in children with intellectual disability (ID). We examined the structure of phonological processing in 294 school-age children with mild ID and the relationships between its components and expressive and receptive language and reading skills using structural equation modeling. Phonological processing consisted of two distinct but correlated latent abilities: phonological awareness and naming speed. Phonological awareness had strong relationships with expressive and receptive language and reading skills. Naming speed had moderate relationships with these variables. Results suggest that children with ID bring the same skills to the task of learning to read as children with typical development, highlighting the fact that phonologically based reading instruction should be considered a viable approach.

Construct Validity and Measurement Invariance of the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-III Form A in the Performance of Struggling Adult Readers: Rasch Modeling.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to apply the Rasch model to an analysis of the psychometric properties of the PPVT-III Form A items with struggling adult readers. METHODS: The PPVT-IIIA was administered to 229 African-American adults whose isolated word reading skills were between third and fifth grades. Conformity of the adults' performance on the PPVT-III items was evaluated using the Winsteps software. RESULTS: Analysis of all PPVT-IIIA items combined did not fully support its use as a useful measure of receptive vocabulary for struggling adult readers who were African Americans. To achieve an adequate model fit, items 73 through item 156 were analyzed. The items analyzed showed adequate internal consistency reliability, unidimensionality, and freedom from differential item functioning for ability, gender, and age, with a minor modification. DISCUSSION: With an appropriate treatment of misfit items, the results supported the measurement properties, internal consistency reliability, unidimensionality of the PPVT-IIIA items, and measurement invariance of the test across subgroups of ability, age, and gender.

Multiple-component remediation for developmental reading disabilities: IQ, socioeconomic status, and race as factors in remedial outcome.

Results from a controlled evaluation of remedial reading interventions are reported: 279 young disabled readers were randomly assigned to a program according to a 2 × 2 × 2 factorial design (IQ, socioeconomic status [SES], and race). The effectiveness of two multiple-component intervention programs for children with reading disabilities (PHAB + RAVE-O; PHAB + WIST) was evaluated against alternate (CSS, MATH) and phonological control programs. Interventions were taught an hour daily for 70 days on a 1:4 ratio at three different sites. Multiple-component programs showed significant improvements relative to control programs on all basic reading skills after 70 hours and at 1-year follow-up. Equivalent gains were observed for different racial, SES, and IQ groups. These factors did not systematically interact with program. Differential outcomes for word identification, fluency, comprehension, and vocabulary were found between the multidimensional programs, although equivalent long-term outcomes and equal continued growth confirmed that different pathways exist to effective reading remediation.

Neurocognitive predictors of reading outcomes for children with reading disabilities.

This study reports on several specific neurocognitive process predictors of reading outcomes for a sample of 278 children with reading disabilities. Three categories of response (i.e., poor, average, and good) were formed via growth curve models of six reading outcomes. Two nested discriminant function analyses were conducted to evaluate the predictive capability of the following models: (a) an intervention and phonological processing model that included intervention group, phonological awareness, and rapid naming and (b) an additive cognitive neuropsychological model that included measures of memory, visual processes, and cognitive or intellectual functioning. Over and above the substantial explanatory power of the base model, the additive model improved classification of poor and good responders. Several of the cognitive and neuropsychological variables predicted degree of reading outcomes, even after controlling for type of intervention, phonological awareness, and rapid naming.

The relationship between phonological processing skills and word and nonword identification performance in children with mild intellectual disabilities.

Word and nonword identification skills were examined in a sample of 80 elementary school age students with mild intellectual disabilities and mixed etiologies who were described as struggling to learn to read by their teachers. Performance on measures of receptive and expressive vocabulary, measures of phonological awareness, and measures of word and nonword identification were included for analyses. Hierarchical regression analyses indicated that, after controlling for chronological age and vocabulary knowledge, phonological processing accounted for a large and significant amount of unique variance of both word and nonword identification. In addition, the pattern of results found in this study is similar to that obtained with typically developing learners. As with typically developing children, measures of phonological awareness were significantly correlated with measures of both reading achievement and vocabulary knowledge.

The relationship between different measures of oral reading fluency and reading comprehension in second-grade students who evidence different oral reading fluency difficulties.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to examine whether different measures of oral reading fluency relate differentially to reading comprehension performance in two samples of second-grade students: (a) students who evidenced difficulties with nonsense-word oral reading fluency, real-word oral reading fluency, and oral reading fluency of connected text (ORFD), and (b) students who evidenced difficulties only with oral reading fluency of connected text (CTD). METHOD: Participants (ORFD, n = 146 and CTD, n = 949) were second-grade students who were recruited for participation in different reading intervention studies. Data analyzed were from measures of nonsense-word oral reading fluency, real-word oral reading fluency, oral reading fluency of connected text, and reading comprehension that were collected at the pre-intervention time point. RESULTS: Correlational and path analyses indicated that real-word oral reading fluency was the strongest predictor of reading comprehension performance in both samples and across average and poor reading comprehension abilities. CONCLUSION: Results of this study indicate that real-word oral reading fluency was the strongest predictor of reading comprehension and suggest that real-word oral reading fluency may be an efficient method for identifying potential reading comprehension difficulties.