Development of the Left Arcuate Fasciculus is Linked to Learning Gains in Reading, but not Math
This collaboration between Stanford University, Vanderbilt University, and the University of Washington continues exploring the dynamic relationship between white matter neuronal development and learning gains through a longitudinal lens. The study followed 101 students from the southern United States from first to fourth grade, tracking their reading and math scores along with brain scans that looked at the left arcuate fasciculus, a key pathway involved in language. The study revealed year-to-year within-individual changes in reading scores linked to the development of the left arcuate fasciculus. Furthermore, they found the relationship between mean diffusivity (MD) development and gains in reading varied over the length of the left arcuate, and that gains in reading precede future changes in the white matter. This research adds to growing evidence that neuroplasticity and literacy development are dynamic, interconnected processes.
The findings from this study are consistent with prior neurobiological evidence reported in Rapid and Widespread White Matter Plasticity During an Intensive Reading Intervention (Huber et al., 2018), which demonstrated that instruction at Lindamood-Bell Learning Centers using the Seeing Stars program led to increased white matter conductivity and improved reading abilities in children with reading difficulties, including dyslexia. These results were also highlighted in a National Science Foundation video (National Science Foundation, 2019).
A. Average estimated tract profiles for MD in the left arcuate fasciculus generated by the GAMM for four different quartiles of reading score change (reading state). B. The estimated smoothing effect of time elapsed since the first study observation on average MD in the left arcuate. This effect was not significant (p = 0.137) C. Relationship between overall mean Woodcock-Johnson reading scores and MD in the left arcuate at each time point in the study.
Works Cited:
Huber, E., Donnelly, P. M., Rokem, A., & Yeatman, J. D. (2018). Rapid and widespread white matter plasticity during an intensive reading intervention. Nature Communications, 9(1), 2260. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-018-04627-5
National Science Foundation. (2019, February 28). White matter matters: A look at how reading can change the brain.
