The Neurobiological Basis of Skilled and Impaired Reading: Recent Findings and New Directions

Abstract In recent years, significant progress has been made in the study of reading and reading disability with the use of functional neuroimaging techniques. There is substantial converging evidence that skilled word recognition requires the development of a highly integrated cortical system that includes left hemisphere dorsal, ventral, and anterior subsystems. This article highlights key findings regarding the functional role of these regions during skilled reading, the developmental trajectory toward this mature reading circuitry in normally developing children, deviations from this trajectory in populations with reading disabilities, and the ways in which successful reading remediation alters the brain organization for reading. We present one possible interpretation of these findings and report some recent findings from our lab that continue to refine our understanding of the functional properties of each component region and the ways in which these areas interact. The article concludes with a discussion of important areas of inquiry to be addressed in future work.