Effective connectivity of visual word recognition and homophone orthographic errors

The study of orthographic errors in a transparent language like Spanish is an important topic in relation to writing acquisition. The development of neuroimaging techniques, particularly functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), has enabled the study of such relationships between brain areas. The main objective of the present study was to explore the patterns of effective connectivity by processing pseudohomophone orthographic errors among subjects with high and low spelling skills. Two groups of 12 Mexican subjects each, matched by age, were formed based on their results in a series of ad hoc spelling-related out-scanner tests: a high spelling skills (HSSs) group and a low spelling skills (LSSs) group. During the f MRI session, two experimental tasks were applied (spelling recognition task and visuoperceptual recognition task). Regions of Interest and their signal values were obtained for both tasks. Based on these values, structural equation models (SEMs) were obtained for each group of spelling competence (HSS and LSS) and task through maximum likelihood estimation, and the model with the best fit was chosen in each case. Likewise, dynamic causal models (DCMs) were estimated for all the conditions across tasks and groups. The HSS group's SEM results suggest that, in the spelling recognition task, the right middle temporal gyrus, and, to a lesser extent, the left parahippocampal gyrus receive most of the significant effects, whereas the DCM results in the visuoperceptual recognition task show less complex effects, but still congruent with the previous results, with an important role in several areas. In general, these results are consistent with the major findings in partial studies about linguistic activities but they are the first analyses of statistical effective brain connectivity in transparent languages

Neuroimage study on low orthographic competence group

Background: In this paper we studied the functional neural substrates underlying the performance of homophonic spelling error detecting tasks including frequent and infrequent Spanish words- through functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) procedure in subjects with low orthographic performance. Method: A block design was used to administer 2 visual tasks,with 2 experimental conditions each, to 8 healthy participants with low orthographic performance. In both tasks correct and misspelled Spanish words sequentially appeared. Participants were instructed to detect orthographic errorsin one task, as well as the presence of 1 specific vowel in the other. Image data were obtained from 32 axial contiguous slices and repetition time of 3 seconds. Results: Significant bilateral activations were found, especially inmedial temporal areas during the orthographic error recognition task performance, whereas upper right and left frontal regions were significantly activated while detecting a specific vowel. Conclusions: These data are consistent with the literature and suggest an association between orthographic processing and hyperactivation of bilateral cerebral areas in subjects with low orthographic skills, probably due to compensatory mechanism

Structural Equation Models to estimate Dynamic Effective Connectivity Networks in Resting fMRI. A comparison between individuals with Down syndrome and controls

Emerging evidence suggests that an effective or functional connectivity network does not use a static process over time but incorporates dynamic connectivity that shows changes in neuronal activity patterns. Using structural equation models (SEMs), we estimated a dynamic component of the effective network through the effects (recursive and nonrecursive) between regions of interest (ROIs), taking into account the lag 1 effect. The aim of the paper was to find the best structural equation model (SEM) to represent dynamic effective connectivity in people with Down syndrome (DS) in comparison with healthy controls. Twenty-two people with DS were registered in a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) resting-state paradigm for a period of six minutes. In addition, 22 controls, matched by age and sex, were analyzed with the same statistical approach. In both groups, we found the best global model, which included 6 ROIs within the default mode network (DMN). Connectivity patterns appeared to be different in both groups, and networks in people with DS showed more complexity and had more significant effects than networks in control participants. However, both groups had synchronous and dynamic effects associated with ROIs 3 and 4 related to the upper parietal areas in both brain hemispheres as axes of association and functional integration. It is evident that the correct classification of these groups, especially in cognitive competence, is a good initial step to propose a biomarker in network complexity studies

Analysis of Pseudohomophone Orthographic Errors through Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI)

The study of orthographic errors in a transparent language such as Spanish is an important topic in relation to writing acquisition because in Spanish it is common to write pseudohomophones as valid words. The main objective of the present study was to explore the possible differences in activation patterns in brain areas while processing seudohomophone orthographic errors between participants with high (High Spelling Skills (HSS)) and low (Low Spelling Skills (LSS)) spelling orthographic abilities. We hypothesize that (a) the detection of orthographic errors will activate bilateral inferior frontal gyri, and that (b) this effect will be greater in the HSS group. Two groups of 12 Mexican participants, each matched by age, were formed based on their results in a group of spelling-related ad hoc tests: HSS and LSS groups. During the fMRI session, two experimental tasks were applied involving correct and pseudohomophone substitution of Spanish words. First, a spelling recognition task and second a letter searching task. The LSS group showed, as expected, a lower number of correct responses (F(1, 21) = 52.72, p <.001, η2 = .715) and higher reaction times compared to the HSS group for the spelling task (F(1, 21) = 60.03, p <.001, η2 = .741). However, this pattern was reversed when the participants were asked to decide on the presence of a vowel in the words, regardless of spelling. The fMRI data showed an engagement of the right inferior frontal gyrus in HSS group during the spelling task. However, temporal, frontal, and subcortical brain regions of the LSS group were activated during the same task

Resting-state default mode network connectivity in young individuals with Down syndrome

Background: Down syndrome (DS) is a chromosomal disorder that causes intellectual disability. Few studies have been conducted on functional connectivity using restingstate fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging) signals or more specifically, on the relevant structure and density of the default mode network (DMN). Although data on this issue have been reported in adult DS individuals (age: >45 years), the DMN properties in young DS individuals have not been studied. The aim of this study was to describe the density and structure of the DMN network from fMRI signals in young DS (age: <36 years). Method: A sample of 22 young people with DS between the ages of 16 and 35 (M = 25.5 and SD = 5.1) was recruited in various centers for people with intellectual disability (ID). In addition to sociodemographic data, a six-minute fMRI session was recorded with a 3. T Philips Ingenia scanner. A control group of 22 young people, matched by age and gender, was obtained from the Human Connectome Project (to compare the networks properties between groups). Results: The values of the 48 ROIs that configured the DMN were obtained, and the connectivity graphs for each subject, the average connectivity graph for each group, the clustering and degree values for each ROI, and the average functional connectivity network were estimated. Conclusions: A higher density of overactivation was identified in DS group in the ventral, sensorimotor, and visual DMN networks, although within a framework of a wide variability of connectivity patterns in comparison with the control group network. These results extend our understanding of the functional connectivity networks pattern and intrasubject variability in DS

Complexity Analysis of the Default Mode Network Using Resting-State fMRI in Down Syndrome: Relationships Highlighted by A Neuropsychological Assessment

Background: Studies on complexity indicators in the field of functional connectivity derived from resting-state fMRI (rs-fMRI) in Down syndrome (DS) samples and their possible relationship with cognitive functioning variables are rare. We analyze how some complexity indicators estimated in the subareas that constitute the default mode network (DMN) might be predictors of the neuropsychological outcomes evaluating Intelligence Quotient (IQ) and cognitive performance in persons with DS. Methods: Twenty-two DS people were assessed with the Kaufman Brief Test of Intelligence (KBIT) and Frontal Assessment Battery (FAB) tests, and fMRI signals were recorded in a resting state over a six-minute period. In addition, 22 controls, matched by age and sex, were evaluated with the same rs-fMRI procedure. Results: There was a significant difference in complexity indicators between groups: the control group showed less complexity than the DS group. Moreover, the DS group showed more variance in the complexity indicator distributions than the control group. In the DS group, significant and negative relationships were found between some of the complexity indicators in some of the DMN networks and the cognitive performance scores. Conclusions: The DS group is characterized by more complex DMN networks and exhibits an inverse relationship between complexity and cognitive performance based on the negative parameter estimates

Estimation of brain functional connectivity in patients with mild cognitive impairment.

Mild cognitive impairment is defined as greater cognitive decline than expected for a person at a particular age and is sometimes considered a stage between healthy aging and Alzheimer's disease or other dementia syndromes. It is known that functional connectivity patterns change in people with this diagnosis. We studied functional connectivity patterns and functional segregation in a resting-state fMRI paradigm comparing 10 MCI patients and 10 healthy controls matched by education level, age and sex. Ninety ROIs from the automated anatomical labeling (AAL) atlas were selected for functional connectivity analysis. A correlation matrix was created for each group, and a third matrix with the correlation coefficient differences between the two matrices was created. Functional segregation was analyzed with the 3-cycle method, which is novel in studies of this topic. Finally, cluster analyses were also performed. Our results showed that the two correlation matrices were visually similar but had many differences related to different cognitive functions. Differences were especially apparent in the anterior default mode network (DMN), while the visual resting-state network (RSN) showed no differences between groups. Differences in connectivity patterns in the anterior DMN should be studied more extensively to fully understand its role in the differentiation of healthy aging and an MCI diagnosis

Estudio de neuroimagen en sujetos con baja competencia ortográfica ante tareas ortográficas con errores homófonos

Background: In this paper we studied the functional neural substrates underlying the performance of homophonic spelling error detecting tasks including frequent and infrequent Spanish words- through functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) procedure in subjects with low orthographic performance. Method: A block design was used to administer 2 visual tasks,with 2 experimental conditions each, to 8 healthy participants with low orthographic performance. In both tasks correct and misspelled Spanish words sequentially appeared. Participants were instructed to detect orthographic errorsin one task, as well as the presence of 1 specific vowel in the other. Image data were obtained from 32 axial contiguous slices and repetition time of 3 seconds. Results: Significant bilateral activations were found, especially inmedial temporal areas during the orthographic error recognition task performance, whereas upper right and left frontal regions were significantly activated while detecting a specific vowel. Conclusions: These data are consistent with the literature and suggest an association between orthographic processing and hyperactivation of bilateral cerebral areas in subjects with low orthographic skills, probably due to compensatory mechanisms.Antecedentes: En este trabajo se estudia la implicación de regiones cerebrales en la detección de errores ortográficos de tipo homófono en palabras frecuentes e infrecuentes del español mediante Imagen por Resonancia Magnética funcional (IRMf) en sujetos de bajo desempeño ortográfico. Método: Se empleó un Diseño de Bloques para presentar visualmente 2 tareas y 2 condiciones experimentales a ocho sujetos sanos con bajo desempeño ortográfico. Se presentaron palabras correcta e incorrectamente escritas solicitándoles a los participantes, en la primera tarea, que detectaran la presencia de errores ortográficos, mientras que en la segunda se solicitaba que detectaran la presencia de una vocal específica en la palabra presentada. Las imágenes se registraron a partir de 32 cortes axiales contiguos con un tiempo de repetición de 3 segundos. Resultados: Se encontraron activaciones significativas en áreas temporales y mediales, de forma bilateral, en la tarea de reconocimiento de patrón ortográfico mientras que en la tarea de detección de vocales las activaciones significativas se observaron en la región frontal superior derecha y frontal izquierda. Conclusiones: Los resultados son congruentes con lo reportado en la bibliografía y sugieren que el pobre reconocimiento ortográfico se asocia con hiperactivación neural bilateral cuando se ejecutan tareas de este orden, a modo de un posible reclutamiento compensatorio