Yamasaki Brianna L, McGregor Karla K, Booth James R
Department of Psychology and Human Development, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, United States.
Boys Town National Research Hospital, Omaha, NE, United States.
Front Hum Neurosci. 2021 Oct 14;15:674119. doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2021.674119. eCollection 2021.
According to the Interactive Specialization Theory, cognitive skill development is facilitated by a process of neural specialization. In line with this theory, the current study investigated whether neural specialization for phonological and semantic processing at 5-to-6 years old was predictive of growth in word reading skills 2 years later. Specifically, four regression models were estimated in which reading growth was predicted from: (1) an intercept-only model; (2) measures of semantic and phonological neural specialization; (3) performance on semantic and phonological behavioral tasks; or (4) a combination of neural specialization and behavioral performance. Results from the preregistered analyses revealed little evidence in favor of the hypothesis that early semantic and phonological skills are predictive of growth in reading. However, results from the exploratory analyses, which included a larger sample, added age at Time 1 as a covariate, and investigated relative growth in reading, demonstrated decisive evidence that variability in phonological processing is predictive of reading growth. The best fitting model included both measures of specialization within the posterior superior temporal gyrus (pSTG) and behavioral performance. This work provides important evidence in favor of the Interactive Specialization Theory and, more specifically, for the role of phonological neural specialization in the development of early word reading skills.
根据交互式专业化理论，认知技能的发展是由神经专业化过程推动的。基于这一理论，本研究调查了5至6岁时语音和语义处理的神经专业化是否能预测两年后单词阅读技能的增长。具体而言，估计了四个回归模型，其中阅读增长是通过以下方式预测的：（1）仅含截距的模型；（2）语义和语音神经专业化的测量指标；（3）语义和语音行为任务的表现；或（4）神经专业化和行为表现的组合。预先注册分析的结果几乎没有证据支持早期语义和语音技能能预测阅读增长这一假设。然而，探索性分析的结果（包括更大的样本、将时间1的年龄作为协变量，并研究阅读的相对增长）表明，有决定性证据表明语音处理的变异性可预测阅读增长。最佳拟合模型包括后颞上回（pSTG）内的专业化测量指标和行为表现。这项工作为交互式专业化理论提供了重要证据，更具体地说，为语音神经专业化在早期单词阅读技能发展中的作用提供了证据。
