Developmental dyslexia is a neurodevelopmental disorder with a strong genetic basis. Previous studies observed white matter alterations in the left posterior brain regions in adults and school-age children with dyslexia. However, no study yet has examined the development of tract-specific white matter pathways from the pre-reading to the fluent reading stage in children at familial risk for dyslexia (FHD+) versus controls (FHD−). This study examined white matter integrity at pre-reading, beginning, and fluent reading stages cross-sectionally ( n = 78) and longitudinally (n = 45) using an automated fiber-tract quantification method. Our findings depict white matter alterations and atypical lateralization of the arcuate fasciculus at the pre-reading stage in FHD+ versus FHD− children. Moreover, we demonstrate faster white matter development in subsequent good versus poor readers and a positive association between white matter maturation and reading development using a longitudinal design. Additionally, the combination of white matter maturation, familial risk, and psychometric measures best predicted later reading abilities. Furthermore, within FHD+ children, subsequent good readers exhibited faster white matter development in the right superior longitudinal fasciculus compared with subsequent poor readers, suggesting a compensatory mechanism. Overall, our findings highlight the importance of white matter pathway maturation in the development of typical and atypical reading skills.

The Reading Acceleration Program, a computerized reading-training program, increases activation in neural circuits related to reading. We examined the effect of the training on the functional connectivity between independent components related to visual processing, executive functions, attention, memory, and language during rest after the training. Children 8-12 years old with reading difficulties and typical readers participated in the study. Behavioral testing and functional magnetic resonance imaging were performed before and after the training. Imaging data were analyzed using an independent component analysis approach. After training, both reading groups showed increased single-word contextual reading and reading comprehension scores. Greater positive correlations between the visual-processing component and the executive functions, attention, memory, or language components were found after training in children with reading difficulties. Training-related increases in connectivity between the visual and attention components and between the visual and executive function components were positively correlated with increased word reading and reading comprehension, respectively. Our findings suggest that the effect of the Reading Acceleration Program on basic cognitive domains can be detected even in the absence of an ongoing reading task.

Purpose. Invasive intracranial recordings have suggested that high‐frequency oscillation is involved in epileptogenesis and is highly localized to epileptogenic zones. The aim of the present study is to characterize the frequency and spatial patterns of high‐frequency brain signals in childhood epilepsy using a non‐invasive technology. Methods. Thirty children with clinically diagnosed epilepsy were studied using a whole head magnetoen‐cephalography (MEG) system. MEG data were digitized at 4 000 Hz. The frequency and spatial characteristics of high‐frequency neuromagnetic signals were analyzed using continuous wavelet transform and beamformer. Three‐dimensional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was obtained for each patient to localize magnetic sources. Results. Twenty‐six patients showed high‐frequency (100‐1 000 Hz) components (26/30, 86%). Nineteen patients showed more than one high‐frequency component (19/30, 63%). The frequency range of high‐frequency components varied across patients. The highest frequency band was identified around 910 Hz. The loci of high‐frequency epileptic activities were concordant with the lesions identified by magnetic resonance imaging for 21 patients (21/30, 70%). The MEG source localizations of high‐frequency components were found to be concordant with intracranial recordings for nine of the eleven patients who underwent epilepsy surgery (9/11, 82%). Conclusion. The results have demonstrated that childhood epilepsy was associated with high‐frequency epileptic activity in a wide frequency range. The concordance of MEG source localization, MRI and intracranial recordings suggests that measurement of high‐frequency neuromagnetic signals might provide a novel approach for clinical management of childhood epilepsy.

This meta-analysis study aims to quantify the group differences in reading skills between children with cochlear implants and their hearing peers and between children with cochlear implants and children with hearing aids (aged between 3 and 18 years old). Of the 5,642 articles screened, 47 articles met predetermined inclusion criteria (published between 2002 and 2019). The robust variance estimation based meta-analysis models were used to synthesize all the effect sizes. Children with cochlear implants scored significantly lower than their hearing peers in phonological awareness (g = −1.62, p < 0.001), vocabulary (g = −1.50, p < 0.001), decoding (g = −1.24, p < 0.001), and reading comprehension (g = −1.39, p < 0.001), but not for fluency (g = −0.67, p = 0.054). Compared to children with hearing aids, children with cochlear implants scored significantly lower in phonological awareness (g = −0.30, p = 0.028). The percentage of unilateral cochlear implant negatively impacts the group difference between children with cochlear implants and their hearing peers. Findings from this study confirm a positive shift in reading outcomes for profoundly deaf children due to cochlear implantation. Some children with cochlear implants may need additional supports in educational settings.