%0 Journal Article
%T Reading performance correlates with white-matter properties in preterm and term children
%J Developmental medicine and child neurology
%D 2010
%A Andrews, James S.
%A Ben-Shachar, Michal
%A Yeatman, Jason D.
%A Flom, Lynda L.
%A Luna, Beatriz
%A Feldman, Heidi M.
%V 52
%N 6
%P e94-e100
%X AIM: We used diffusion tensor imaging to investigate the association between white-matter integrity and reading ability in a cohort of 28 children. Nineteen preterm children (14 males, five females; mean age 11y 11mo [SD 1y 10mo], mean gestational age 30.5wks (SD 3.2), mean birthweight was 1455g [SD 625]); and nine term children (five males, four females; mean age 12y 8mo [SD 2y 5mo], mean gestational age 39.6wks (SD 1.2), and mean birthweight 3877g [SD 473]). <br><br>METHOD: We tested whether fractional anisotropy in a left hemisphere temporoparietal region and in the corpus callosum correlates with birthweight and scores on the following three subtests of the Woodcock-Johnson III Tests of Achievement: word identification, word attack, and passage comprehension. <br><br>RESULTS: Preterm children had lower reading scores than a comparison group for all reading subtests (p less than 0.05). We found significant correlations between birthweight and fractional anisotropy in the whole corpus callosum (p = 0.001), and between fractional anisotropy and reading skill in the genu (p = 0.001) and body (p = 0.001) of the corpus callosum. The correlation between reading skill and fractional anisotropy in a left temporoparietal region previously associated with reading disability was not significant (p = 0.095). <br><br>INTERPRETATION: We conclude that perinatal white-matter injury of the central corpus callosum may have long-term developmental implications for reading performance.<p /><p>Language: en</p>
%G en
%I John Wiley and Sons
%@ 0012-1622
%U http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-8749.2009.03456.x