State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.
Dev Sci. 2024 Sep;27(5):e13379. doi: 10.1111/desc.13379. Epub 2023 Mar 10.
The development of reading networks across different languages and cultures provides an important window to address gene-culture interactions in brain functionality development. Previous meta-analyses have explored the neural correlates of reading in different languages with diverse orthographic transparencies. However, it remains unknown whether the neural topographic relationship of different languages varies when taking development into account. To address this issue, we conducted meta-analyses of neuroimaging studies with approaches of activation likelihood estimation and seed-based effect size mapping and focused on two highly contrasting languages, Chinese and English. The meta-analyses covered 61 studies of Chinese reading and 64 studies of English reading by native speakers. The brain reading networks of child and adult readers were further separately analyzed and compared to explore the developmental effects. The results revealed that the commonalities and differences in reading networks for Chinese and English were inconsistent between children and adults. In addition, the reading networks converged with development, and the effects of writing systems on brain function organizations were more salient in the initial stages of reading. An interesting finding was that the left inferior parietal lobule demonstrated increased effect sizes in adults compared with children in both Chinese and English reading, indicating a common developmental feature of reading mechanisms across the two languages. These findings provide new insights into the functional evolution and cultural modulation of brain reading networks. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS: Meta-analyses with approaches of activation likelihood estimation and seed-based effect size mapping were performed to evaluate the developmental characteristics of brain reading networks. The engagement of universal and language-specific reading networks was different between children and adults, and the reading networks converged with increased reading experience. Overall the middle/inferior occipital and inferior/middle frontal gyrus were specific to Chinese and the middle temporal, right inferior frontal gyrus were specific to English. The left inferior parietal lobule was engaged more in adults than children in Chinese and English reading, demonstrating a common developmental feature of reading mechanisms.
阅读网络在不同语言和文化中的发展为解决大脑功能发展中的基因-文化相互作用提供了一个重要窗口。先前的荟萃分析已经探索了不同语言在不同正字法透明度下阅读的神经相关性。然而，当考虑到发展时，不同语言的神经拓扑关系是否会有所不同，这仍然未知。为了解决这个问题，我们采用激活似然估计和种子效应大小映射的方法，对以母语为中文和英语的个体的神经影像学研究进行了荟萃分析。元分析涵盖了 61 项中文阅读研究和 64 项英文阅读研究。进一步对儿童和成人读者的大脑阅读网络进行了单独的分析和比较，以探讨发展的影响。结果表明，儿童和成人的中文和英文阅读网络的共性和差异不一致。此外，阅读网络随着发展而趋同，书写系统对大脑功能组织的影响在阅读的初始阶段更为明显。一个有趣的发现是，在中文和英文阅读中，与儿童相比，成年人的左下顶叶显示出更大的效应量，这表明两种语言的阅读机制具有共同的发展特征。这些发现为大脑阅读网络的功能进化和文化调节提供了新的见解。研究亮点：采用激活似然估计和种子效应大小映射的方法进行荟萃分析，以评估大脑阅读网络的发展特征。儿童和成人阅读时，普遍和语言特定的阅读网络的参与度不同，阅读网络随着阅读经验的增加而趋同。整体而言，中/下枕叶和下/中额回是中文特有的，中颞叶、右下额回是英文特有的。左下顶叶在中文和英文阅读中比儿童更活跃，这表明阅读机制具有共同的发展特征。
