Neurodevelopemental Maturation underlies and Drives Behavior and Cognition
Prefrontal Cortex is the Seat of Reasoning and Last Region to
Reach Structural Maturity
Moral Reasoning, Judgment, Impulse Control, Planning, Character and Behavior are directly related to the Biological Maturation of the Brain
Adolescent Brain is not Structurally
Comparable to the Competent Adult Brain
Maturation of Executive Functions in
Adolescence is Critical for Self-
Regulation, Judgment, and Reasoning

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Unique Set of Mental Functions
Regionally specific to the Prefrontal cortex
Mediated by flexible and dynamic neural networks
Direct Cognitive and Emotional Functions
Include Cognitive Initiation and Inhibition, Self
Regulation, Problem Solving, Flexibility, Error
Detection, Organization, Self Monitoring, & Motor
Output
Orchestrate the Domains of Thought and Action
“
The Conductor of the Orchestra ”

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Forgetfulness, can’t keep several things in mind
Distractibility and inattention
Have difficulty following instructions
Disorganization
Difficulty using sense of time to prepare for upcoming events and the future
Cannot accurately estimate how much time it will take to finish a task
Emotional reactivity
Low frustration tolerance
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Lack of Initiation
Impulsivity
Decreased self awareness
Diminished working memory
Lack of anticipation
Inflexibility
Hyperfocus
Temper Dyscontrol
Weak self-calming skills
Difficulty reading social cues
Poor follow through
Low tolerance for boredom
Impatience

Anatomic
Prefrontal Cortex and
Striatum
Executive Function
Levels of Analysis
Neurologic
Working Memory
Neuropsychological
Self Regulation
Organization and
Planning
Use of Self-Directed
Speech, Rules, and Plans
Inhibition
Initiate, Sustain,
Inhibit, Shifts
Delayed
Gratification
Goal Directed, Future
Oriented Actions
NeuroBehavioral Associates

• Develops in Fits and Starts
• Vulnerable to Early Insult and Chronic
Stressors
• Adolescent Brain is Structurally Closer to a
Young Child’s Brain than an Adult’s Brain
• Prefrontal Cortex or Executive Control
Centers are Last to Mature
Ontogeny Recapitulates Phylogeny
Embryonic Development of an Organism follows the same Path as the Evolutionary History of its Species

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 Early mother-infant interaction is important for the development of the orbitofrontal cortex during the first months of life.
 Early life stressful experiences may permanently damage the orbitofrontal cortex, predisposing the individual to later life neurobehavioral deficits
 Severe early stress induced by deprivation and abuse induces changes in the developing brain.

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Corticotrophin – releasing factor (CRF) hypersecretion throughout life is a consequence of severe abuse in childhood and may underlie the psychopathology that follows abuse
Abuse leads to a state of chronic hyper-arousal and specific neurochemical changes occur in the brains of abused children.
The memory loss of disassociative amnesia induced by psychological stress may be the result of the toxic action of high, prolonged levels of glucosteriods on the hippocampus

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Contributors to the risk for ED:
Pregnancy complications
Prematurity
Toxin exposure
(prefrontal)
Drug/alcohol prenatal
Low birth weight
Post-natal injury
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ED possibly related to a birth defect due to a nutritional deficiency of Omega-3 fatty acids during pregnancy and while nursing (Ottoboni & Ottoboni, 2003.)
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ED/ADHD does not arise from increased sugar intake, food additives, excessive viewing of television, or poor child management by parents.

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Areas of the frontal lobe showed the largest difference between young adults and teens.
Parietal and temporal areas appeared largely mature in the teen brain.
Increased myelination in the adult frontal cortex related to the maturation of cognitive processing and other executive functions.

The shades of blue symbolize maturing brain functions.
Maturation culminates in the prefrontal cortex, the area just behind the brow. This is the seat of Executive
Functions the area that controls judgment and the weighing of risks and consequences.
Previously this area was thought to be mature by 18 but studies suggest this area is not fully developed until
25 or later .

Patient Profile : Premature Birth
Age: 16
Gender: Female
Grade : 10th
Presenting Problem : Grades don’t reflect her ability, organizational difficulties, problems with recall and retention, slow to complete assignments, mild social skill difficulties
Strengths : Caring, empathetic, artistic, well behaved
Birth History : Premature birth at 32 weeks, respiratory problems requiring intubation/ventilation, episodes of apnea,
Developmental History : Motor and language delays, OT/SP prior to Kindergarten, socially immature, escalating academic difficulties thru middles and high school
Family History : Unremarkable

 The survival of very low birth weight infants has increased dramatically during the past decade
 Studies examining infants born at less than 32 gestational weeks yield consistent evidence of long term neurocognitive deficits impacting executive function
 Recent studies reveal a very high prevalence of higher-order neurodevelopmental impairment evident when such youngsters reach school age
 Approximately 50% of ex-preterm infants experience deficits in executive functioning and other areas cognitive development which require special academic support.
 Unexpectedly high risk of autism. Autism spectrum features may be an unrecognized feature of very low birth weight infants. Children born before 31 weeks gestation have a doubled risk for developing an autism spectrum disorder.

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A growing body of research indicates that many children start school not ready to learn not because they do not know their letters or numbers but because they lack one critical ability: the ability to regulate their social, emotional, and cognitive behaviors.
Current research shows that self-regulation – often called executive function -- has a stronger association with academic achievement than IQ or entry-level reading or math skills.
Based on Russian Psychologist’s Lev Vygotsky’s work
Teaching children to use mental tools to control cognition, emotions, and behavior.

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Research on Tools of the Mind (Diamond, Barnett,
Thomas, & Munroe, 2007) showed that children who attended Tools classrooms had higher rates of self-regulation than closely matched pairs and that the level of self-regulation correlated with child achievement in literacy and mathematics.
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NeuroBehavioral Associates

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Misunderstandings & Misassumptions
Problem of the “Mind” not the “Body”
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Problem of
“Motivation”
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Engenders Moralistic
Judgments rather than a Readiness to
Help

Snap the Whip – Winslow Homer 1872

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ADHD most likely polygenetic in nature.
May involve genes governing DA and NE systems.
“The 7-repeat allele:” associated with novelty seeking
(more impulsive, excitable, and exploratory). – Steven
Pliszka, MD.

ADHD children show 3-4 percent smaller brain volumes
- NIMH, 2008

2007 NIMH Study:
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Compared brain scans of 446 children with and without
ADHD.
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Brains of children with ADHD develop normally but lagging behind approximately 3 years.
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Biological differences most evident in the frontal lobes, temporal grey matter, CN, and cerebellum .
Shaw et al., 2007

•Children with ADHD had significantly smaller brain volumes (3%)
• Unmedicated youngsters with ADHD had strikingly smaller volumes (5.8%) than controls
•Children with ADHD had developmental trajectories that paralleled controls but on a lower trajectory
Castellanos, F. (2002) JAMA
NeuroBehavioral Associates

Abnormal Brain Anatomy Found With ADHD : Diffusion tensor imaging shows abnormalities in pathways between the frontal lobe, cerebellum.
Kate Johnson March 2005
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Children with and without ADHD
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Abnormalities in fiber pathways in the frontal cortex, basal ganglia, brain stem, and cerebellum in the ADHD patients
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The circuit that connects the frontal lobe and cerebellum is not efficient in ADHD
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Fiber pathways abnormalities are less pronounced in children who have been treated with stimulant medication, compared with those who have not.
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Our hope is, in the future, to be able to diagnose ADHD with this technique.
”
Manzar Ashtari, Ph.D. North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System

Abnormal Brain Anatomy Found With ADHD : Diffusion tensor imaging shows abnormalities in pathways between the frontal lobe, cerebellum.
Kate Johnson March 2005

Executive Functions & Adolescents

Driven by Rapid Development in Prefrontal Cortex
Executive Functions
Self-Control
Inhibition
Flexibility
Initiation
Planning
Organize
Reasoning
Judgment
Self-Monitor
Delay Gratification
Assess Consequences
Perspective-Taking

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2005 Pediatric Academic Societies by Daniel
Cox, Ph.D

 44 teen brains examined via fMRI after teens played violent video game
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Less activation of prefrontal portions of the brain.
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More activity in the amygdala.
Lingering effects of heightend emotional arousal and suppressed self-control and concentration remained.

Emotional Difficulties
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Aggression
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Mood Swings
Depression & Anxiety
Compulsive Behaviors
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Alcohol and Drug
Abuse
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Preoccupation with
Appearance
Self Mutilation
Risk Taking Behavior
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Alcohol and Drug Abuse
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Unprotected Sex
Inattention Distractibility
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Poor Academic
Performance
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Planning Difficulties
Test-Taking Difficulties

“Maturity is not simply a matter of slipping software (learning) into existing equipment.
Instead, the hardware changes. Those changes partly reflect signals from the world outside, and seem to be a peculiarly human adaptation. Think of it as nature’s way of giving us a second chance.”
Giedd, 2002

M. Jules Dejerine
French Neurologist
“Word-Blindness”
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One of the first reports in the literature
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Basis for disconnection syndromes
Memoires de la Societe
De Bologie, 1891

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51 year old store keeper
Left Cerebral Vascular Accident
Following CVA
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Could not read words
Color naming deficit
R homonymous hemianopsia
He could write, but not read what he wrote
He could identify letters
He could only identify words spelled aurally or tacitly
“Linguistic Blindfold”

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“Strephosymbolia”

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Described patient with Alexia without Agraphia
Color naming deficit – color perception was intact but couldn’t match color names with seen colors
Color naming used as a marker for visual-verbal disconnection
Led Denckla (1972) to search for children with reading difficulties who might be unable to name colors
Found children with reading problems hid long latencies or hesitancies…
“Lack of Automaticity”

Galaburda & Kemper - Cellular Abnormalities:
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Clusters of Ectopic neurons in outside layer of the cerebral neocortex
Ectopias are cellular migration between different cortical layers
Ectopias prevalent in frontal and perisylvan language regions of left hemisphere
Ectopias are produced before 6 months of gestation
Found polymicrogyria – multiple narrow, short, curved gyri

The cerebral cortex is a thin layer of cells about 1.5 to 4 mm thick.
The cortex provides the connections and pathways for the highest cognitive functions, such as language and abstract thinking.
The cerebral cortex contains about 25 billion neurons, more than 62,000 miles of axons, and
300,000,000,000,000 synapses.
Neocortex layer
The thin layer of the neocortex is dense with neurons.

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Post-mortem structure of severely dyslexic individuals
Brains were structurally different
Planum Temporale were symmetrical
Found cellular abnormalities
Archives of Neurology, 1978
Archives of Neurology, 1979

Brain and Language, 1997

Shaywitz et al. - PET Study:
… brain activation patterns provide evidence of an imperfectly functioning system for segmenting words into their phonological constituents.
… pattern of underactivation in left posterior brain regions contrasted with relative overactivation in anterior regions may provide a neural signature for the phonological difficulties characterizing dyslexia.

Levels of Analysis
Neurologic Anatomic
Phonemic
Awareness
§
Left Superior
Temporal Gyrus
§ Heschel’s
Gyrus
§ Broca’s Area
Phonological
Processing
Rapid Naming
Functional
Decoding
Difficulties
Spelling
Difficulties
Weak Writing
Skills
Diminished
Verbal Fluency
Diminished
Reading Fluency
Mispronunciations
NeuroBehavioral Associates

Denckla & Rudel, 1972, 1974, 1976
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Rapid Automatized Naming Test – RAN
Traced to Geschwind’s description of Dejerine’s: “ Alexia without Agraphia”
“Lack of Automaticity”
Strong prediction of reading success
Taxes executive control of language system
Reid Lyon recommended as Kindergarten screening tool
Annals of Dyslexia, 1999

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RAN represents separate function from phonological processing
Unique contribution to reading beyond phonological awareness
Poor readers can be subtyped
Phonological Deficit only
RAN Deficits only
Phonological & RAN Deficits
Double – Deficit Model
Bowers & Wolf, 1993

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RAN discriminates between good and poor readers with ADHD
Deficits in letter word fluency and RAN characterized ADHD – RD children
LWF is executive task requires a rulegoverned, self-monitored search of the lexicon
Zone of convergence linking ADHD to RD concerns the executive aspects of language-
O verlap Zone
Learning
Disabilities
Attention Deficit/
Hyperactivity
Disorder

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DTI is a MRI technique that allows visualization and characterization of the brain’s white matter tracts.
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DTI measures the diffusion of water molecules in brain tissue
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Diffusion is isotropic (equal in all directions) in CSF and cell bodies but anisotropic (greater in one direction than another) in axons that comprise white matter
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White matter tracts are myelinated neuronal fiber tracts that connect one brain region with another
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Myelin prevents the diffusion of water through the walls of the axon

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The goal of diffusion tensor imaging is to image the microstructure of the brain’s white matter tracts
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Red is left to right
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Green is front to back
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Blue is top to bottom

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Water inside the white matter tracks can only diffuse in the same direction as the actual white matter fibers.
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In gray matter water diffuses in many directions, having ellipsoids that are more ball shaped. Water in white matter will have ellipsoids as in the picture above. These tensors can mathematically be combined to do fiber tracking, also called tractography.

Fractional anisotropy (FA) is a scalar value between zero and one that describes the degree of anisotropy of a diffusion process. A value of zero means that diffusion is isotropic, i.e. it is unrestricted (or equally restricted) in all directions. A value of one means that diffusion occurs only along one axis and is fully restricted along all other directions.
FA is a measure often used in diffusion imaging where it is thought to reflect fiber density , axonal diameter, and myelination in white matter .
Isotropic Diffusion Anisotropic Diffusion

There is a rapidly expanding body of literature addressing the capability of diffusion-tensor imaging to depict normal white matter and subtle age- and pediatric disease state –related perturbations in white matter that are not visible at routine MR imaging .
FA and ADC are two of the most widely used diffusion-tensor indices. FA is considered a marker of axonal integrity: White matter maturational changes are expressed in part as increases in FA

ADVANCES IN KNOWLEDGE
•Diffusion-tensor imaging reveals differences in white matter structure between dyslexic and age-matched normal-reading children.
•
Age-related maturational changes in white matter depicted at diffusion-tensor imaging in dyslexic children differ from these changes in normal-reading children.

Microstructure of Temporo-Parietal White Matter as a Basis for
Reading Ability: Evidence from Diffusion Tensor Magnetic
Resonance Imaging
Torkel Klingberg, Maj Hedehus, Elise Temple, Talya Salz, John D.E Gabrieli, Michael E
Moseley, Russell A Poldrack
Department of Psychology, Stanford University, California 94305, USA
Neuron, Vol. 25, 493-500, February, 2000
Compared Adults with and without Dyslexia
White matter diffusion anisotropy in the temporo-parietal region of the left hemisphere was significantly correlated with reading scores within both the reading impaired and control groups
Greater anisotropy may reflect greater communication between cortical area involved in visual. auditory, and language processing

Neural Changes following Remediation in Adult
Developmental Dyslexia
Guinevere F. Eden, Karen M. Jones,Katherine Cappell, Lynn Gareau, Frank B. Wood,
Thomas A. Zeffiro, Nicole A.E. Dietz, John A. Agnew, and D. Lynn Flowers
Neuron, Vol. 44, 411-422, October 28, 2004
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Examined adults with and without dyslexia
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Utilized fMRI
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Behavioral changes in adults receiving reading intervention correlated with:
-- increased activity in the left hemisphere regions engaged by normal readers
--compensatory activity in the right perisylvan cortex.
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Behavioral plasticity involves two distinct neural mechanisms

Children’s Reading Performance is Correlated with
White Matter Structure Measured by Diffusion
Tensor Imaging
Gayle K. Deutsch, Robert F. Dougherty, Roland Bammer, Wai Ting Siok, John D.E. Gabrieli,
Brian Wandell
Cortex, Vol. 4, 354-363, 2005
Examined children with a wide range of reading performance levels
Utilized DTI
White matter structure as measured by FA and CI significantly correlated with behavioral measures or reading, spelling, and rapid naming
Lower FA, reflecting diminished white matter organization, was associated with lower performance scores
Findings support importance of the left temporo-parietal neural pathways in the development of reading skills

Functional and Morphometric Brain Dissociation between Dyslexia and Reading Ability
Fumiko Hoeft,*†‡ Ann Meyler,§ Arvel Hernandez,* Connie Juel,¶ Heather Taylor-Hill,* Jennifer L. Martindale,* Glenn
McMillon,* Galena Kolchugina,* Jessica M. Black,*¶ Afrooz Faizi,* Gayle K. Deutsch,* Wai Ting Siok,*‖ Allan L. Reiss,†
Susan Whitfield-Gabrieli,*** and John D. E. Gabrieli
Examined adolescents with and without dyslexia
Utilized fMRI techniques
Found patterns of both hypoactivation and hyperactivation
Hypoactivation reflected functional atypicalities related to dyslexia itself
Hyperactivation reflected processes related to current reading levels independent of dyslexia
Hypoactivation is related to the cause of dyslexia
Hyperactivation is associated with the consequence of dyslexia-compensatory mechanisms?

Prediction of Children's Reading Skills using
Behavioral, Functional, and Structural
Neuroimaging Measures
Fumiko Hoeft, Takefumi Ueno, Allan L. Reiss, Ann Meyler, Susan Whitfield-Gabrieli, Gary H. Glover,
Timothy A. Keller, Nobuhisa Kobayashi, Paul Mazaika, Booil Jo, Marcel Adam Just, John D.E. Gabrieli
Behavioral Neuroscience, Vol 121(3), 602-613, Jun 2007
Examined children of varying reading abilities at both the beginning and end of the school year
Utilized fMRI while performing a phonemic awareness task, behavioral measures, and structural brain measures
Specific patterns of brain activation during phonological processing and white matter densities predicted decoding skills at the end of the year
Combined behavioral and brain imaging techniques predicted outcome better than either alone
Neuroimaging may be useful in identifying those children at risk for poor decoding and reading skills

Tract-based spatial statistics of diffusion tensor imaging in adults with dyslexia.
Richards T , Stevenson J , Crouch J , Johnson LC , Maravilla K , Stock P , Abbott R ,
Berninger V .
Department of Radiology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.
Am J of Neuroradiology 2008 June; 29(6) : 1134-1139
Compared 7 normal adult readers with 14 adults with dyslexia
Utilized DTI
Higher FA values in adult normal readers versus adults with dyslexia
Stronger functional connectivity in the bilateral inferior frontal gyrus of adult normal readers
Expands past studies demonstrating left temporal-parietal differences
Supports disconnections in structural, as well as functional, connectivity in the development of dyslexia

Simple Developmental Dyslexia in Children:
Alterations in Diffusion-Tensor Metrics of White
Matter Tracts at 3 T 1
Radiology.
2009 Jun;251(3):882-91. Epub 2009 Apr 3
CONCLUSION:
Findings at 3.0-T DT imaging suggest that white matter differences in dyslexic children are not limited to the portion of the brain traditionally considered to be integral to word recognition and processing.
1.
Nancy K. Rollins , MD,
2.
Behroze Vachha , MD, PhD,
3.
Priya Srinivasan , MS,
4.
Jonathon Chia , MS,
5.
Joyce Pickering , PhD,
6.
Carrol W. Hughes , PhD and
7.
Barjor Gimi , PhD

A dual DTI approach to analyzing white matter in children with dyslexia
Psychiatry Res.
2009 Jun 30;172(3):215-9. Epub 2009 Apr 5
John C. Carter, a
Hadzipasic, a
Diane C. Lanham,
Joon Kim, a b Laurie E. Cutting,
Martha B. Denckla, bcef bcd Amy M. Clements-Stephens, and Walter E. Kaufmann b Xuejing Chen, a Muhamed
Used voxel-based (VBA) and region-of-interest (ROI) diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) analyses,
Examined white matter (WM) organization in 7 children with dyslexia and 6 agematched controls.
Both methods demonstrated reduced fractional anisotropy (FA) in the left superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF) and abnormal orientation in the right SLF in dyslexics.
Application of this complementary dual DTI approach to dyslexia, which included novel analyses of fiber orientation, demonstrates its usefulness for analyzing mild and complex WM abnormalities.

Children with Dyslexia Lack Multiple Specializations
Along the Visual Word-Form (VWF) System
Sanne van der Mark, Kerstin Bucher, Urs Maurer, Enrico Schulz, Silvia Brem,
Jsabelle Buckelmüller, Martin Kronbichler, Thomas Loenneker, Peter Klaver,
Ernst Martin, Daniel Brandeis
Neuroimage, vol. 47(4), 1940-9. Oct 2009
Examined children with and without dyslexia
Utilized fMRI to examine activation of the left inferior occipito-temporal cortex
(VWF area)
Presented real word, pseudowords, and false fonts
Children with dyslexia showed impaired specialization for both print and orthography

Brain connectivity in non-reading impaired children and children diagnosed with developmental dyslexia
.
Odegard TN , Farris EA , Ring J , McColl R , Black J .
University of Texas Arlington, Arlington, TX 76019-0528, United States. odegard@uta.edu
Neuropsychologia, 2009
Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) was used to investigate the relationship between white matter and reading abilities in reading impaired and non-reading impaired children.
Seventeen children (7 non-reading impaired, 10 reading impaired) participated in this study.
The data replicated previous results seen across multiple studies and extended findings to include measures of both real word and pseudoword decoding.
Negative correlations were observed in the left posterior corpus callosum between fractional anisotropy (FA) values and both measures of decoding.
Positive correlations between FA values and real word and pseudoword decoding were observed in the left superior corona radiata.
This extension of findings regarding correlations between the corona radiata and reading skills suggests an important direction for future research into the neurological substrates of reading .

White Matter Microstructural Differences Linked to
Left Perisylvian Language Network in Children with
Dyslexia
Sheryl L, Rimrodt, Daniel J. Peterson, Martha B. Denckla, Walter E. Kaufmann,
Laurie E. Cutting
Department of Developmental Cognitive Neurology, Kennedy Krieger Institute, 707 N Broadway, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
Cortex, vol. 46(6):739-49, June 2010
Examined children with and without dyslexia
Utilized DTI to examine white matter structure
FA decreases in dyslxia in LIFG and left temporo-parietal white matter
Positive corelation of FA to reading speed in a left posterior cicuit
Found differences in fiber orientation in Left anterior perisylvan language pathway
Links an atypical white matter structure in dyslexia to atypical fiber orientation in reading circuits of the left perisylvan language network
“To find a convergence of MRI evidence… linked to an identifiable structure …Brings us closer to understanding how dyslexia happens”

Altering cortical connectivity: remediation-induced changes in the white matter of poor readers.
Keller TA , Just MA .
Center for Cognitive Brain Imaging, Department of Psychology, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA. tk37@andrew.cmu.edu
Examined whether 100 hr of intensive remedial instruction affected the white matter of
8- to 10-year-old poor readers utilizing DTI.
Prior to instruction, poor readers had significantly lower FA than good readers in a region of the left anterior cerebral white matter
The instruction resulted in a change in white matter (significantly increased FA), and in the very same region.
The FA increase was correlated with improvement in phonological decoding ability, clarifying the cognitive locus of the effect.
The results demonstrate the capability of a behavioral intervention to bring about a positive change in cortico-cortical white matter tracts .
PMID: 20005820 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]PMCID: PMC2796260 [Available on 2010/12/10]

Neural Systems Predicting Long-Term Outcome in
Dyslexia
Fumiko Hoeft, Bruce D. McCandliss, Jessica M. Black, Alexander Gantman, Nahal Zakerani, Charles
Hulme, Heikki Lyytinen, Susan Whitfield-Gabrieli, Gary H. Glover, Allan L. Reiss, John D. E. Gabrieli
J. Neurosci. Vol. 31 (26) 9641-9648, 2011
Examined children with and without dyslexia over a 2.5 year period to determine if brain imaging (fMRI & DTI) can predict future long term gains in dyslexia
Greater right prefrontal activation during a reading task that demanded phonological awareness and right superior longitudinal fasciculus white matter organization significantly predicted future reading gains in dyslexia
This method predicted significantly above chance (72% accuracy) which child would or would not improve reading skills in dyslexia.
Behavioral measures (testing) were at chance
Right prefrontal mechanisms may be critical for reading improvement in dyslexia, perhaps identifying structures necessary for compensation

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Dyslexia and ADHD involve both structural and functional connectivity abnormalities and regional specificity
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Connectivity abnormalities are developmental rather than acquired or the consequence of reduced reading practice
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Left temporo-parietal hypoactivation and reduced connectivity is related to etiology of dyslexia
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White matter organization is weaker in left posterior brain regions
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Right prefrontal activation during reading and right superior longitudinal fasciculus white matter organization predicted future reading gains in dyslexics-Neuroprognosis

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Greater than normal white matter connectivity in the corpus callosum which may reflect an atypical reliance on right hemishphere regiions for reading
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Greater preintervntion activation in the right IFG and greater white matter intergrity in the right SLF, on rhyme task, predicts greaterimprovement in reading over the next 2.5 years-Neuroprognosis
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DTI may be helpful in measuring response to reading intervention
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Remediation is associated with increased activation and connectivity in left tempopro-partietal and frontal regions

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Psychometric testing predicted gains in decoding, accounting for 65% of variance
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Fuunctional and structural imaging predicted gains in decoding accounting for 57% of variance
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Combined behavioral testing and brain imaging accounted for
81% of variance-Neuroprognosis
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Event-Related Potentials (ERP’s) may predict fuure language and reading problems in infants and children before reading instruction
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ERP response to language sounds within 36 hours of birth predict children who will go on to become dyslexic by age 8 with 81% accuracy-Neuroprognosis

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Educational Neuroscience-
Mind Brain and Education
Laura-Ann Petitto Kurt Fischer
Neuroprognosis
Combination of Brain Imaging and Behavioral
Measures for Diagnosis
Better Prediction of At Risk Children
Predict capacity for Response to Intervention
Possibility of Prevention
Measure the Response to Intervention
Shape Educational Policy and Practice
Shape Health Care Policy-Insurance
Guide Family Decision-Making

The Frontal Lobes : The Seat of Civilization
“An Interpretation of Michelangelo's Creation of Adam”
JAMA 1990

The Creation of Adam (1508-1512) ceiling of the Sistine Chapel ...
Meshberger, M.D. described an anatomically accurate image of the human brain portrayed behind God.
On close examination, borders in the painting correlate with sulci in the inner and outer surface of the brain, the brain stem, the basilar artery, the pituitary gland and the optic chiasm. God's hand does not touch Adam, yet Adam is already alive as if the spark of life is being transmitted across a synaptic cleft.*
Below the right arm of God is a sad angel in an area of the brain that is activated on PET scans when someone experiences a sad thought. God is superimposed over the limbic system, the emotional center of the brain and possibly the anatomical counterpart of the human soul. God's right arm extends to the prefrontal cortex, the most creative and most uniquely human region of the brain.
*Frank Lynn Meshberger, M.D., JAMA #14 October 1990

NeuroBehavioral Associates