Sulcal anatomy of ventral temporal cortex and reading development

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Developmental Psychology
• Genetics

Background:

• Individual differences in cognitive abilities are linked to cortical folding patterns, established early in development.
• A specific feature, the left posterior occipital temporal sulcus (lhpOTS) interruption, has been associated with better reading skills in typical readers.
• The potential of lhpOTS as an early biomarker for dyslexia and its predictive value for intervention response remain unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate if the lhpOTS pattern differentiates children with dyslexia from typical readers.
• To determine if lhpOTS predicts response to targeted reading intervention.
• To examine the generalizability of the lhpOTS-reading relationship across diverse samples.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of lhpOTS patterns in 209 children across four independent samples.
• Inclusion of children with and without dyslexia.
• Assessment of the relationship between lhpOTS anatomy and reading skills, and prediction of intervention outcomes.

Main Results:

• The association between lhpOTS and reading skills was robust in typical readers.
• lhpOTS patterns did not distinguish children with dyslexia from typical readers.
• lhpOTS did not predict response to targeted reading intervention; intervention led to equivalent gains regardless of lhpOTS anatomy.

Conclusions:

• Neuroanatomical features like lhpOTS reflect reading proficiency but do not determine reading impairment or learning capacity.
• The findings highlight the critical role of the educational environment and targeted interventions in supporting reading acquisition for children with dyslexia.
• lhpOTS is not a reliable biomarker for dyslexia or a predictor of intervention success.