Functional connectivity between the uncinate fasciculus and frontotemporal semantic system supports reading
Tin Q Nguyen1,2, Emily M Harriott1,3, Yurui Gao2,4
1Department of Special Education, Peabody College of Education and Human Development, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, United States.
None:
Skilled reading arises from the coordinated activity of neural systems supporting word recognition, semantic processing, and executive control. While the structural architecture of white matter tracts involved in reading is well characterized, their functional contributions remain unclear. Here, we examined whether resting-state functional connectivity of the left uncinate fasciculus, a ventral frontal-temporal white matter tract implicated in semantic processing, modulates the relationship between word recognition and reading comprehension. Fifty-three participants (ages 10-14 years; 29 girls, 24 boys) completed resting-state functional MRI and standardized assessments of word recognition and reading comprehension. Functional connectivity between the left uncinate fasciculus and structurally connected gray matter regions, including the anterior and medial temporal lobes and the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex, was derived from blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) signal correlations at rest. Regression analyses revealed that stronger uncinate fasciculus functional connectivity with semantic memory and control regions was associated with a weaker dependence of reading comprehension on word recognition skill. These findings suggest that semantic brain systems accessed via the uncinate fasciculus may support flexible meaning-based reading strategies, allowing comprehension to be sustained across varying levels of word recognition. By linking white matter functional connectivity to individual differences in reading performance, this study highlights the importance of semantic pathways in reading development and underscores the value of examining white matter-gray matter interactions in functional brain networks for reading.
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