White matter topological organization of reading network correlates with phonological awareness in Chinese adults

Previous studies have reported anomalies of white matter network connectivity in macroscale connectome in reading difficulties. However, evidence of how white matter connections of the reading network associated with phonological deficit in individuals with reading difficulties was rare. The present study aimed to investigate the relationship between white matter topological organization of the reading network and phonological processing skills in 65 Chinese adults (37 good readers and 28 poor readers). Graph-theoretical metrics were employed to capture topological organization features of the reading network. Positive correlations were observed between extrinsic white matter connections from reading network nodes to non-reading-network nodes and phonological processing skills. Specifically, white matter connections between reading network nodes and hubs contributed most to the correlations with phonological awareness. Moreover, correlations appeared to be different in good and poor readers: positive correlations between white matter connections of the reading network and phonological awareness were significant only in good readers, but not in poor readers. Results suggest that the extrinsic white matter connectivity structure of the reading network supports phonological processing ability.