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Poster B81, Tuesday, August 20, 2019, 3:15 – 5:00 pm, Restaurant Hall

Brain activation related to individual differences in natural reading speed: A fixation-related fMRI study

Fabio Richlan1, Sarah Schuster1, Stefan Hawelka1, Martin Kronbichler1, Florian Hutzler1;1Paris-Lodron-University of Salzburg

Introduction: Learning to read requires the development of brain systems capable of integrating orthographic, phonological, and lexico-semantic features of written words. In the neuroimaging literature, to date, artificial reading tasks and unnatural presentation modes are prevailing, thus limiting the validity of the findings of these studies. Therefore, a new technique - fixation-related fMRI - has been developed, allowing the investigation of natural reading via a combined analysis of eye movement and brain activation data. Methods: The present study used fixation-related fMRI in 56 healthy adults during self-paced silent sentence reading. Individual differences in reading speed were defined as words read per minute during fMRI scanning. Brain activation related to individual reading speed was identified by using it as a predictor for the fMRI data. Results: Sentence reading compared with fixation baseline resulted in activation of the typical reading network including bilateral occipital, parietal, temporal, and frontal language regions. Faster individual reading speed was associated with higher activation in the bilateral occipitoparietal cortex associated with visual-attentional processing, in the bilateral middle and inferior temporal cortex associated with lexico-semantic processing, and in the right temporoparietal cortex associated with phonological processing. Conclusion: This study is a first step in the identification of the brain systems related to natural reading speed. It extends the knowledge gained from previous studies presenting isolated reading material. Furthermore, it opens new possibilities for studying individual differences in natural reading speed in impaired readers, such as children with developmental dyslexia or neurological patients with acquired reading problems.

Themes: Reading, Disorders: Developmental
Method: Functional Imaging

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