Years of interdisciplinary research have significantly advanced our understanding of optimal methods for reading instruction, orthographic and phonological variables that interact with word identification, and the neural substrates that support reading. However, core theoretical issues remain unresolved. For instance, a specific region in the left fusiform cortex, termed the Visual Word Form Area (VWFA), has been strongly implicated in orthographic processing. Overall, the current findings suggest the region is a core - perhaps even obligatory -- part of the pathway by which the perceptual analysis of written words ultimately provides fluent access to representations of phonology and meaning. In this proposal, we consider an alternative possibility: namely, that the right fusiform cortex can provide an alternative route through which print can gain access to the language system. We will test this hypothesis by examining the effect of cultural (Aim 1), individual (Aim 2), and orthographic (Aim 3) differences on the magnitude, time course, and functional connectivity of the right and left fusiform cortex. We will relate fusiform activity to measures of reading skill, and to behavioral markers for different types of orthographic analysis. The results should inform the theoretical debate about the VWFA, and they may lead to new approaches for the treatment of acquired and developmental reading disorders.

Public Health Relevance

The overarching goal of the proposed research is to determine whether the right fusiform can provide an alternative route into the language system, a possibility that is raised by our findings with native Chinese speakers. The answer will shed light on the ongoing debate about the nature of the Visual Word Form Area (VWFA) and the impact of perceptual analysis upon phonological coding during reading. Longer term, the answer may also have important clinical implications: if the right fusiform can support reading independently from the left fusiform (i.e., VWFA), then it may be possible to design new approaches to the treatment of individuals with acquired or developmental dysfunction of the VWFA.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development (NICHD)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01HD060388-03
Application #
8118024
Study Section
Language and Communication Study Section (LCOM)
Program Officer
Miller, Brett
Project Start
2009-08-15
Project End
2014-07-31
Budget Start
2011-08-01
Budget End
2012-07-31
Support Year
3
Fiscal Year
2011
Total Cost
$293,446
Indirect Cost
Name
University of Pittsburgh
Department
Psychology
Type
Schools of Arts and Sciences
DUNS #
004514360
City
Pittsburgh
State
PA
Country
United States
Zip Code
15213
Alvarez, Travis A; Fiez, Julie A (2018) Current perspectives on the cerebellum and reading development. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 92:55-66
Moore, Michelle W; Fiez, Julie A; Tompkins, Connie A (2017) Consonant Age-of-Acquisition Effects in Nonword Repetition Are Not Articulatory in Nature. J Speech Lang Hear Res 60:3198-3212
Hirshorn, Elizabeth A; Wrencher, Alaina; Durisko, Corrine et al. (2016) Fusiform Gyrus Laterality in Writing Systems with Different Mapping Principles: An Artificial Orthography Training Study. J Cogn Neurosci 28:882-94
Hirshorn, Elizabeth A; Li, Yuanning; Ward, Michael J et al. (2016) Decoding and disrupting left midfusiform gyrus activity during word reading. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 113:8162-7
Moore, Michelle W; Brendel, Paul C; Fiez, Julie A (2014) Reading faces: investigating the use of a novel face-based orthography in acquired alexia. Brain Lang 129:7-13
Simcox, Travis; Fiez, Julie A (2014) Collecting response times using Amazon Mechanical Turk and Adobe Flash. Behav Res Methods 46:95-111
Moore, Michelle W; Durisko, Corrine; Perfetti, Charles A et al. (2014) Learning to read an alphabet of human faces produces left-lateralized training effects in the fusiform gyrus. J Cogn Neurosci 26:896-913
Hirshorn, Elizabeth A; Fiez, Julie A (2014) Using Artificial Orthographies for Studying Cross-Linguistic Differences in the Cognitive and Neural Profiles of Reading. J Neurolinguistics 31:69-85
Nelson, Jessica R; Liu, Ying; Fiez, Julie et al. (2009) Assimilation and accommodation patterns in ventral occipitotemporal cortex in learning a second writing system. Hum Brain Mapp 30:810-20