The READy project aims to reach a deeper understanding of reading behavior by modeling the speed of brain responses to text as a function of white matter fiber properties. It bridges two traditionally separate cognitive neuroscience fields and methods by linking human brain structural connections to their electrophysiological function. Research findings from ex-vivo preparations and animal models have clearly shown that the conduction velocity of neural signals depends on axonal tissue properties, but this level of understanding was not feasible in humans. Recent advances in noninvasive diffusion magnetic resonance (dMRI) now enable precise measurement of white matter properties in living humans, opening new research avenues. READy leverages these cutting-edge dMRI techniques to account for the speed of reading performance and brain responses with unprecedented precision.
The project is structured around three Work Packages (WPs). WP1 will adopt a multi-method cross-sectional design in healthy adults to characterize the link between the latency (and conduction velocity) of electrophysiological responses to text and the tissue properties of intra- and interhemispheric white matter pathways carrying reading-relevant information. WP2 will adopt a longitudinal design in typically developing children to investigate the direction of this structural-functional link as we learn how to read. WP3 will consist of a randomized controlled trial in individuals with dyslexia to examine the causal relationship between structural neuroplasticity, functional neuroplasticity and reading behavior.
Overall, READy will provide a novel, integrated framework for understanding the reading circuitry, with profound implications for science, education, and clinical practice, including the early identification of at-risk readers and optimization of intervention programs.
The project is structured around three Work Packages (WPs). WP1 will adopt a multi-method cross-sectional design in healthy adults to characterize the link between the latency (and conduction velocity) of electrophysiological responses to text and the tissue properties of intra- and interhemispheric white matter pathways carrying reading-relevant information. WP2 will adopt a longitudinal design in typically developing children to investigate the direction of this structural-functional link as we learn how to read. WP3 will consist of a randomized controlled trial in individuals with dyslexia to examine the causal relationship between structural neuroplasticity, functional neuroplasticity and reading behavior.
Overall, READy will provide a novel, integrated framework for understanding the reading circuitry, with profound implications for science, education, and clinical practice, including the early identification of at-risk readers and optimization of intervention programs.