This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. The first goal of this research is to understand how the chemical abnormalities that exist in the brains of children with Neurofibromatosis Type 1 (NF-1), as revealed by Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy, are related to the reading, language, and articulation deficits associated with NF-1. A second goal is to determine how differences in brain activation (using functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging) when reading are linked to the cognitive and academic impairments associated with NF-1. A third goal is to further understand how Unidentified Bright Signals (UBS; seen on anatomical Magnetic Resonance Imaging) represent the brain basis of deficits in reading, language, and articulation in NF-1. Each of the specific aims of this research is designed to answer how the cognitive/academic functioning of children with NF-1 are similar or different when examined in both genetic (i.e., children with NF-1 as compared to their siblings) as well as general population (children with NF-1 compared to reading disabled and control populations) contexts and how these differences relate to brain factors. Based upon previous research findings, we hypothesize that chemical abnormalities will exist in the thalamus (a 'relay' station in the brain) and correlate with reading, language, and articulation deficits in NF-1, as defined by the 'lowering' of the cognitive score of each child with NF-1 relative to that of his/her unaffected sibling. In terms of the second goal of this research, we hypothesize that children with NF-1 will activate the language centers of the brain when performing reading-like tasks similarly to reading disabled children; previous research with reading disabled groups has indicated that they have different patterns of activation than normal readers. As reported for IQ deficits, the specific reading, language, and articulation deficits of children with NF-1 will (we hypothesize) show a relationship to the number of locations of UBS seen on Magnetic Resonance Imaging scans. All three goals of this research make use of the advent of Magnetic Resonance imaging methodology, which therefore permits the pursuit of further understanding the basic neurobiologic factors (ultrastructural, physiological, and localization) and their impacts on cognition (reading, language, and articulation) in NF-1, thus furthering our understanding of how the NF-1 gene affects the brain.
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