Intrinsic Cerebro-Cerebellar Functional Connectivity Reveals the Function of Cerebellum VI in Reading-Related Skills

Frontiers in Psychology

article

Chen Ang¹  Guosheng Ding¹  Jia Zhang¹  Mingyuan Chu²  Hehui Li¹  Mengyu Tian¹  Xiaoxia Feng¹  Manli Zhang³  Li Liu¹  Xiangzhi Meng³ 

[1] State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning and IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University;School of Psychology, University of Aberdeen, United Kingdom;School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences, Beijing Key Laboratory of Behavior and Mental Health, Peking University;PekingU-PolyU Center for Child Development and Learning, Peking University

关键词: cerebellum VI;    resting state functional connectivity;    fMRI;    phonological awareness;    rapid automatized naming;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00420

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

The engagement of the cerebellum VI in reading was reported in both typically developing and dyslexic readers. However, it is still not clear how the cerebellum VI contributes to reading. Here we have examined the correlation of intrinsic cerebro-cerebellar functional connectivity with two critical reading-related skills—phonological awareness (PA) and rapid automatized naming (RAN)—with fMRI technology. Specifically, we tested the hypothesis that the cerebellum may contribute to reading either by phonological skills or by automatizing skills. We chose the left and right cerebellum VI as ROIs, and we calculated the intrinsic cerebro-cerebellar functional connectivity during a resting state. We further explored whether and how cerebro-cerebellar resting state functional connectivity (RSFC) is associated with individuals’ reading-related skills including PA and RAN. The results showed that the functional connectivity between the left supramarginal gyrus and bilateral cerebellum VI was related to RAN, and the connectivity between the left insula and right cerebellum VI was related to PA. However, the effect of PA did not survive after the RAN was regressed out. Control analyses further confirmed that it was the intrinsic cerebro-cerebellar functional connectivity rather than the local cerebellar functionality that associated with phonological awareness ability and rapid automatized naming ability. For the first time, the relationship between cerebro-cerebellar resting state functional connectivity and specific reading-related skills has been explored, and this has deepened our understanding of the way the cerebellum VI is involved in reading.

【 授权许可】

CC BY