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SUMMARY:Does IQ matter for the brain basis of reading skill? - Professor J
 ames Booth\, Vanderbilt University
DTSTART:20260303T150000Z
DTEND:20260303T160000Z
UID:TALK238891@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Louise Gray
DESCRIPTION:*Abstract:*\n\nDecades of behavioral research shows a bidirect
 ional relation between the development of phonological awareness and readi
 ng skill. Longitudinal studies also show that the influence of intelligenc
 e on reading skill is mediated by phonological awareness. Neuroimaging stu
 dies emphasize that the difference between those with dyslexia and typical
  readers is similar regardless of a discrepancy with intelligence\, howeve
 r\, these studies do report that some effects are moderated by intelligenc
 e. Moreover\, these studies are plagued by relatively small sample sizes a
 nd do not treat skill as a continuous variable. \n\nTo address these issue
 s\, we performed a mega-analysis through harmonization on our data shared 
 on OpenNeuro of 4 cross-sectional datasets in 8- to 16-year-old children (
 N=364)\, making it the largest study ever to definitively examine the neur
 al acquisition of reading. All datasets assessed activation in a visual wo
 rd rhyming task during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).\n\nIn
  behavioral analyses\, we found that higher phonological awareness and hig
 her fluid intelligence were related to better reading skill\, with no mode
 ration effects of intelligence. In region of interest neuroimaging analyse
 s\, we found that higher phonological awareness and better reading skill w
 ere related to greater activation in left ventral occipito-temporal\, temp
 oro-parietal and inferior frontal cortex\, but there were no relations wit
 h or moderation effects of fluid intelligence.\n\nThe whole brain analyses
  largely confirmed the region of interest findings showing that higher ski
 ll was related to greater activation of the reading network in regions imp
 licated in orthographic\, phonological and lexical processing. Whole brain
  analyses additionally showed that poor reading was associated with greate
 r activation of occipito-parietal cortex suggesting overreliance on non-li
 nguistic visuo-spatial attention.\n\nAlthough we did not find that the rel
 ation of skill to brain activation was moderated by intelligence in readin
 g network\, we did find moderation in regions implicated in visuo-spatial 
 attention\, particularly the lingual to precuneus\, suggesting the brain b
 asis of poor reading depends on intelligence. \n\nOur research informs mul
 tifactor neuro-cognitive models of reading acquisition and is relevant to 
 the debate over whether the nature of the reading difficulties is fundamen
 tally the same in children with dyslexia and whether they should respond s
 imilarly to intervention\, regardless of a discrepancy with intelligence.\
 n\n*Host:* Professor Dénes Szücs\n\n*How to attend:*\n\nMembers of the U
 niversity may attend in-person at the Old Cavendish Lab\, Free School Lane
  (enter opposite Student Services).\n\nThe talk will also be streamed onli
 ne for those unable to be there in person and for those external to the Un
 iversity. Please "sign up here":https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/does-iq-mat
 ter-for-the-brain-basis-of-reading-skill-tickets-1982664639308?aff=oddtdtc
 reator to receive the Teams link.
LOCATION:Hybrid: Cambridge/Teams
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