Decoding the role of the cerebellum in the early stages of reading acquisition

Hehui Li; Olga Kepinska; Jocelyn N Caballero; Leo Zekelman; Rebecca A Marks; Yuuko Uchikoshi; Ioulia Kovelman; Fumiko Hoeft

doi:10.1016/j.cortex.2021.02.033

Decoding the role of the cerebellum in the early stages of reading acquisition

Cortex. 2021 Aug:141:262-279. doi: 10.1016/j.cortex.2021.02.033. Epub 2021 May 8.

Authors

Hehui Li¹, Olga Kepinska², Jocelyn N Caballero³, Leo Zekelman⁴, Rebecca A Marks⁵, Yuuko Uchikoshi⁶, Ioulia Kovelman⁵, Fumiko Hoeft⁷

Affiliations

¹ Center for Brain Disorders and Cognitive Science, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, PR China; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
² Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA; Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, USA; Department of Cognition, Emotion, and Methods in Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria; Brain and Language Lab, Cognitive Science Hub, University of Vienna, Austria; Dept of Behavioral and Cognitive Biology, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Vienna, Austria; Department of Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.
³ Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
⁴ Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA; Speech and Hearing Bioscience and Technology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA.
⁵ Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
⁶ School of Education, University of California Davis, Davis, CA, USA.
⁷ Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA; Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, USA; Brain Imaging Research Center (BIRC), University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, USA; Haskins Laboratories, New Haven, CT, USA. Electronic address: [email protected].

Abstract

Numerous studies have consistently reported functional activation of the cerebellum during reading tasks, especially in the right cerebellar hemisphere. However, it remains unclear whether this region is also involved in reading during the earliest stages of reading acquisition. Here, we investigated whether and how the cerebellum contributes to reading acquisition. We tested 80 5-6-year-old kindergarteners, who performed a visual word matching task during which functional MRI (fMRI) data were collected. We found that bilateral cerebellar hemispheres were significantly activated during visual word processing. Moreover, activation of left cerebellar lobule VII extending to lobule VIII negatively and significantly correlated with current reading ability, whereas activation of right cerebellar lobule VII extending to lobule VIII significantly and positively correlated with future reading ability. Functional decoding via functional connectivity patterns further revealed that left and right cerebellar lobules connected with different cerebral cortex regions. Our results suggest a division of labor between the left and right cerebellar lobules in beginning readers.

Keywords: Beginning readers; Cerebellum; Division of labor; Longitudinal; Reading.

Publication types

Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Brain Mapping*
Cerebellum / diagnostic imaging
Child
Child, Preschool
Cognition
Humans
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Reading*

Abstract

Publication types

MeSH terms

Grants and funding