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Updated: May 21, 2026

Assessing Dyslexia at Six Year of Age
Published on: May 1, 2020
Three dyslexia susceptibility genes, DYX1C1, DCDC2, and KIAA0319, affect temporo-parietal white matter structure
Fahimeh Darki1, Myriam Peyrard-Janvid, Hans Matsson
1Neuroscience Department, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
Background:
Volume and integrity of white matter correlate with reading ability, but the underlying factors contributing to this variability are unknown.
Methods:
We investigated single nucleotide polymorphisms in three genes previously associated with dyslexia and implicated in neuronal migration (DYX1C1, DCDC2, KIAA0319) and white matter volume in a cohort of 76 children and young adults from the general population.
Results:
We found that all three genes contained polymorphisms that were significantly associated with white matter volume in the left temporo-parietal region and that white matter volume influenced reading ability.
Conclusions:
The identified region contained white matter pathways connecting the middle temporal gyrus with the inferior parietal lobe. The finding links previous neuroimaging and genetic results and proposes a mechanism underlying variability in reading ability in both normal and impaired readers.
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