Shared Neuroanatomical Substrates of Impaired Phonological Working Memory Across Reading Disability and Autism
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Author(s)
Harris, Adrianne
Wisman Weil, Lisa
Tager-Flusberg, Helen
Lu, Chunming
Qi, Zhenghan
Han, Michelle
Halverson, Kelly
Perrachione, Tyler Kent
Kjelgaard, Margaret McCaughin
Wexler, Kenneth N
Date Issued
November 2015
Journal
Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging
Publisher
Elsevier
Citation
Lu, Chunming et al. “Shared Neuroanatomical Substrates of Impaired Phonological Working Memory Across Reading Disability and Autism.” Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging 1, 2 (March 2016): 169–177 © 2016 Society of Biological Psychiatry
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Author's final manuscript
Abstract
Background Individuals with reading disability and individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are characterized, respectively, by their difficulties in reading and social communication, but both groups often have impaired phonological working memory (PWM). It is not known whether the impaired PWM reflects distinct or shared neuroanatomical abnormalities in these two diagnostic groups. Methods White-matter structural connectivity via diffusion weighted imaging was examined in 64 children, age 5 to 17 years, with reading disability, ASD, or typical development, who were matched on age, gender, intelligence, and diffusion data quality. Results Children with reading disability and children with ASD exhibited reduced PWM compared with children with typical development. The two diagnostic groups showed altered white matter microstructure in the temporoparietal portion of the left arcuate fasciculus and in the occipitotemporal portion of the right inferior longitudinal fasciculus (ILF), as indexed by reduced fractional anisotropy and increased radial diffusivity. Moreover, the structural integrity of the right ILF was positively correlated with PWM ability in the two diagnostic groups but not in the typically developing group. Conclusions These findings suggest that impaired PWM is transdiagnostically associated with shared neuroanatomical abnormalities in ASD and reading disability. Microstructural characteristics in left arcuate fasciculus and right ILF may play important roles in the development of PWM. The right ILF may support a compensatory mechanism for children with impaired PWM.
MIT Department
McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT
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DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1016/J.BPSC.2015.11.001
