The Dyslexia Foundation EXTRAORDINARY BRAIN SYMPOSIUM XV with a focus on “The Geschwind – Galaburda Hypothesis 30 years later” was held on June 19-24, 2016 at the Buccaneer Hotel at St. Croix, US Virgin Islands. Dr. Wang gave her oral presentation on the topic of Neural substrates of the executive attention network in children at-risk for dyslexia and typical controls.
Children at-risk for dyslexia showed reduced functional connectivity between the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) compared to typical developing children before getting formal reading instruction. After formal reading instructions, the difference of connection strength was reduced. Our findings suggest either delayed maturation of the executive attention network or differences in the interplay between genetics and environment in FHD+ compared to FHD- children. Our results have important implications for reading instruction and early identification and remediation.
