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Developmental dyslexia, a severe deficit in literacy learning, is a neurodevelopmental learning disorder. Yet, it is not clear whether existing neurobiological accounts of dyslexia capture potential predispositions of the deficit or consequences of reduced reading experience. Here, we longitudinally followed 32 children from preliterate to school age using functional and structural magnetic resonance imaging techniques. Based on standardised and age-normed reading and spelling tests administered at school age, children were classified as 16 dyslexic participants and 16 controls. This longitudinal design allowed us to disentangle possible neurobiological predispositions for developing dyslexia from effects of individual differences in literacy experience. In our sample, the disorder can be predicted already before literacy learning from auditory cortex gyrification and aberrant downstream connectivity within the speech processing system. These results provide evidence for the notion that dyslexia may originate from an atypical maturation of the speech network that precedes literacy instruction. •Longitudinal MRI study following preliterate children developing dyslexia.•Auditory cortex folding was more variable in dyslexic children.•Altered speech network connectivity in dyslexia predates literacy instruction.•Combination of neural and behavioural data reliably predicted dyslexia before school.

Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging is a powerful technique to study the whole-brain neural connectivity that underlies cognitive systems. The present study aimed to define the changes in neural connectivity in their relation to language development. Longitudinal resting-state functional data were acquired from a cohort of preschool children at age 5 and one year later, and changes in functional connectivity were correlated with language performance in sentence comprehension. For this, degree centrality, a voxel-based network measure, was used to assess age-related differences in connectivity at the whole-brain level. Increases in connectivity with age were found selectively in a cluster within the left posterior superior temporal gyrus and sulcus (STG/STS). In order to further specify the connection changes, a secondary seed-based functional connectivity analysis on this very cluster was performed. The correlations between resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) and language performance revealed developmental effects with age and, importantly, also dependent on the advancement in sentence comprehension ability over time. In children with greater advancement in language abilities, the behavioral improvement was positively correlated with RSFC increase between left posterior STG/STS and other regions of the language network, i.e., left and right inferior frontal cortex. The age-related changes observed in this study provide evidence for alterations in the language network as language develops and demonstrates the viability of this approach for the investigation of normal and aberrant language development.

Language development must go hand-in-hand with brain maturation. Little is known about how the brain develops to serve language processing, in particular, the processing of complex syntax, a capacity unique to humans. Behavioral reports indicate that the ability to process complex syntax is not yet adult-like by the age of seven years. Here, we apply a novel method to demonstrate that the basic neural basis of language, as revealed by low frequency fluctuation stemming from functional MRI data, differs between six-year-old children and adults in crucial aspects. Although the classical language regions are actively in place by the age of six, the functional connectivity between these regions clearly is not. In contrast to adults who show strong connectivities between frontal and temporal language regions within the left hemisphere, children's default language network is characterized by a strong functional interhemispheric connectivity, mainly between the superior temporal regions. These data indicate a functional reorganization of the neural network underlying language development towards a system that allows a close interplay between frontal and temporal regions within the left hemisphere.

Word learning plays a central role in language development and is a key predictor for later academic success. The underlying neural basis of successful word learning in children is still unknown. Here, we took advantage of the opportunity afforded by diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging to investigate neural plasticity in the white matter of typically developing preschool children as they learn words. We demonstrate that after 3 weeks of word learning, children showed significantly larger increases of fractional anisotropy (FA) in the left precentral white matter compared to two control groups. Average training accuracy was correlated with FA change in the white matter underlying the left dorsal postcentral gyrus, with children who learned more slowly showing larger FA increases in this region. Moreover, we found that the status of white matter in the left middle temporal gyrus, assumed to support semantic processes, is predictive for early stages of word learning. Our findings provide the first evidence for white matter plasticity following word learning in preschool children. The present results on learning novel words in children point to a key involvement of the left fronto-parietal fiber connection, known to be implicated in top-down attention as well as working memory. While working memory and attention have been discussed to participate in word learning in children, our training study provides evidence that the neural structure supporting these cognitive processes plays a direct role in word learning.

The adult human brain remains plastic even after puberty. However, whether first language (L1) training in adults can alter the language network is yet largely unknown. Thus, we conducted a longitudinal training experiment on syntactically complex German sentence comprehension. Sentence complexity was varied by the depth of the center embedded relative clauses (i.e., single or double embedded). Comprehension was tested after each sentence with a question on the thematic role assignment. Thirty adult, native German speakers were recruited for 4 days of training. Magnetoencephalography (MEG) data were recorded and subjected to spectral power analysis covering the classical frequency bands (i.e., theta, alpha, beta, low gamma, and gamma). Normalized spectral power, time‐locked to the final closure of the relative clause, was subjected to a two‐factor analysis (“sentence complexity” and “training days”). Results showed that for the more complex sentences, the interaction of sentence complexity and training days was observed in Brodmann area 44 (BA 44) as a decrease of gamma power with training. Moreover, in the gamma band (55–95 Hz) functional connectivity between BA 44 and other brain regions such as the inferior frontal sulcus and the inferior parietal cortex were correlated with behavioral performance increase due to training. These results show that even for native speakers, complex L1 sentence training improves language performance and alters neural activities of the left hemispheric language network. Training strengthens the use of the dorsal processing stream with working‐memory‐related brain regions for syntactically complex sentences, thereby demonstrating the brain's functional plasticity for L1 training. We demonstrate brain plasiticity to language training with a longitudinal auditory experiment during which native German speakers were trained to understand syntactically complex sentences. Based on MEG recordings, we identified a gamma power decrease in the left BA 44 for the more complex syntactic structures but not for the simpler ones. Over the training days, a correlation was observed between performance and gamma‐ based connectivity for pairwise connections from and to BA 44.

Children lay the foundation for later academic achievement by acquiring core mathematical abilities in the first school years. Neural reorganization processes associated with individual differences in early mathematical learning, however, are still poorly understood. To fill this research gap, we followed a sample of 5-6-year-old children longitudinally to the end of second grade in school (age 7–8 years) combining magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with comprehensive behavioral assessments. We report significant links between the rate of neuroplastic change of cortical surface anatomy, and children's early mathematical skills. In particular, most of the behavioral variance (about 73%) of children's visuospatial abilities was explained by the change in cortical thickness in the right superior parietal cortex. Moreover, half of the behavioral variance (about 55%) of children's arithmetic abilities was explained by the change in cortical folding in the right intraparietal sulcus. Additional associations for arithmetic abilities were found for cortical thickness change of the right temporal lobe, and the left middle occipital gyrus. Visuospatial abilities were related to right precentral and supramarginal thickness, as well as right medial frontal gyrus folding plasticity. These effects were independent of other individual differences in IQ, literacy and maternal education. Our findings highlight the critical role of cortical plasticity during the acquisition of fundamental mathematical abilities. •MRI study of cortical plasticity during first years of formal math instruction.•Right superior parietal thickness change was related to visuospatial processing.•Right intraparietal sulcus folding plasticity was related to early arithmetic.•Left occipital, and right fronto-temporal regions showed further associations.•Results link cortical plasticity to basic math learning.

Language abilities are known to deteriorate in aging, possibly related to decreased functional and structural connectivity within specialized brain networks. Here, we investigated syntactic ability in healthy young and older adults using a comprehensive assessment of behavioral performance, task-independent functional (FC) and structural brain connectivity (SC). Seed-based FC originating from left pars opercularis (part of Broca's area) known to support syntactic processes was assessed using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging, and SC using fractional anisotropy from diffusion weighted imaging, in the dorsally located superior longitudinal and the ventrally located uncinate fasciculi (SLF, UF) and forceps minor. Young compared to older adults exhibited superior syntactic performance and stronger FC within the mainly left-lateralized syntax network, which was beneficial for performance. In contrast, in older adults, FC within the mainly left-lateralized syntax network was reduced and did not correlate with performance; inter-hemispheric FC to right inferior frontal and angular gyri was detrimental for performance. In both groups, performance was positively correlated with inter-hemispheric SC. For intra-hemispheric SC, performance correlated with structural integrity of SLF in young adults and with integrity of UF in older adults. Our data show that reduced syntactic ability in older adults is associated with decreased FC within dedicated syntax networks. Moreover, young adults showed an association of syntactic ability with structural integrity of the dorsal tract, while older adults rely more on ventral fibers. In sum, our study provided novel insight into the relationship between connectivity and syntactic performance in young and older adults. In addition to elucidating age-related changes in syntax networks and their behavioral relevance, our results contribute to a better understanding of age-related changes in functional and structural brain organization in general, an important prerequisite for developing novel strategies to counteract age-related cognitive decline. •Syntax networks differ between older and young adults.•Functional connectivity within syntax networks correlates with performance.•Inter- and intra-hemispheric structural connectivity is associated with performance.•Young adults rely on dorsal, older adults on ventral language pathways.

We investigate the optical properties of nanostructures of antimony sulfide (Sb2S3), a direct-bandgap semiconductor material that has recently sparked considerable interest as a thin film solar cell absorber. Fabrication from a nanoparticle ink solution and two- and three-dimensional nanostructuring with pattern sizes down to 50 nm have recently been demonstrated. Insight into the yet unknown nanoscopic optical properties of these nanostructures is highly desired for their future applications in nanophotonics. We implement a spectrally broadband scattering-type near-field optical spectroscopy technique to study individual Sb2S3 nanodots with a 20-nm spatial resolution, covering the range from 700 to 900 nm. We show that in this below-bandgap range, the Sb2S3 nanostructures act as high-refractive-index, low-loss waveguides with mode profiles close to those of idealized cylindrical waveguides, despite a considerable structural disorder. In combination with their high above-bandgap absorption, this makes them promising candidates for applications as dielectric metamaterials, specifically for ultrafast photoswitching.

Recent studies suggest that neurobiological anomalies are already detectable in pre-school children with a family history of developmental dyslexia (DD). However, there is a lack of longitudinal studies showing a direct link between those differences at a preliterate age and the subsequent literacy difficulties seen in school. It is also not clear whether the prediction of DD in pre-school children can be significantly improved when considering neurobiological predictors, compared to models based on behavioral literacy precursors only. We recruited 53 pre-reading children either with (N=25) or without a family risk of DD (N=28). Quantitative T1 MNI data and literacy precursor abilities were assessed at kindergarten age. A subsample of 35 children was tested for literacy skills either one or two years later, that is, either in first or second grade. The group comparison of quantitative T1 measures revealed significantly higher T1 intensities in the left anterior arcuate fascicle (AF), suggesting reduced myelin concentration in preliterate children at risk of DD. A logistic regression showed that DD can be predicted significantly better (p=.024) when neuroanatomical differences between groups are used as predictors (80%) compared to a model based on behavioral predictors only (63%). The Wald statistic confirmed that the T1 intensity of the left AF is a statistically significant predictor of DD (p<.05). Our longitudinal results provide evidence for the hypothesis that neuroanatomical anomalies in children with a family risk of DD are related to subsequent problems in acquiring literacy. Particularly, solid white matter organization in the left anterior arcuate fascicle seems to play a pivotal role.

Phonological awareness is the best-validated predictor of reading and spelling skill and therefore highly relevant for developmental dyslexia. Prior imaging genetics studies link several dyslexia risk genes to either brain-functional or brain-structural factors of phonological deficits. However, coherent evidence for genetic associations with both functional and structural neural phenotypes underlying variation in phonological awareness has not yet been provided. Here we demonstrate that rs11100040, a reported modifier of SLC2A3, is related to the functional connectivity of left fronto-temporal phonological processing areas at resting state in a sample of 9- to 12-year-old children. Furthermore, we provide evidence that rs11100040 is related to the fractional anisotropy of the arcuate fasciculus, which forms the structural connection between these areas. This structural connectivity phenotype is associated with phonological awareness, which is in turn associated with the individual retrospective risk scores in an early dyslexia screening as well as to spelling. These results suggest a link between a dyslexia risk genotype and a functional as well as a structural neural phenotype, which is associated with a phonological awareness phenotype. The present study goes beyond previous work by integrating genetic, brain-functional and brain-structural aspects of phonological awareness within a single approach. These combined findings might be another step towards a multimodal biomarker for developmental dyslexia. •rs11100040 is related to fronto-temporal functional connectivity at resting state.•rs11100040 is related to the fractional anisotropy of the arcuate fasciculus.•FA of the arcuate fasciculus is related to phonological awareness.