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Structural properties of the ventral reading pathways are associated with morphological processing in adult English readers

Yablonski, M; Rastle, K; Taylor, JSH; Ben-Shachar, M; (2019) Structural properties of the ventral reading pathways are associated with morphological processing in adult English readers. Cortex , 116 pp. 268-285. 10.1016/j.cortex.2018.06.011. Green open access

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Abstract

Morphological processing, the ability to extract information about word structure, is an essential component of reading. Functional MRI studies have identified several cortical regions involved in morphological processing, but the white matter pathways that support this skill remain unknown. Here, we examine the relationship between behavioral measures of morphological processing and microstructural properties of white matter pathways. Using diffusion MRI (dMRI), we identified the major ventral and dorsal reading pathways in a group of 45 adult English readers. The same participants completed a behavioral battery that included a morphological task and measures of phonological and orthographic processing. We found significant correlations between morphological processing skill and microstructural properties of the ventral, but not dorsal, pathways. These correlations were detected primarily in the left hemisphere, and remained significant after controlling for phonological or orthographic measures, suggesting some level of cognitive specificity. Morphological processing of written words thus appears to rely on ventral pathways, primarily in the left hemisphere. This finding supports the contribution of morphological processing to lexical access and comprehension of complex English words.

Type: Article
Title: Structural properties of the ventral reading pathways are associated with morphological processing in adult English readers
Location: SISSA, Trieste, ITALY
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2018.06.011
Publisher version: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cortex.2018.06.011
Language: English
Additional information: This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in the credit line; if the material is not included under the Creative Commons license, users will need to obtain permission from the license holder to reproduce the material. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Keywords: Science & Technology, Social Sciences, Life Sciences & Biomedicine, Behavioral Sciences, Neurosciences, Psychology, Experimental, Neurosciences & Neurology, Psychology, Morphological processing, Derivational morphology, Reading, White matter tractography, Diffusion imaging, DTI, VISUAL WORD RECOGNITION, AXON DIAMETER DISTRIBUTION, DISTORTION-CORRECTED FMRI, WHITE-MATTER, PHONOLOGICAL AWARENESS, UNCINATE FASCICULUS, INDIVIDUAL-DIFFERENCES, CONNECTIVITY PREDICTS, OCCIPITAL FASCICULUS, ARCUATE FASCICULUS
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > Div of Psychology and Lang Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > Div of Psychology and Lang Sciences > Language and Cognition
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10081008
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