Voxel and surface based whole brain analysis shows reading skill associated grey matter abnormalities in dyslexia

Abstract

Developmental dyslexia (DD) is the most prevalent neurodevelopmental disorder with a substantial negative influence on the individual's academic achievement and career. Research on its neuroanatomical origins has continued for half a century, yielding, however, inconsistent results, lowered total brain volume being the most consistent finding. We set out to evaluate the grey matter (GM) volume and cortical abnormalities in adult dyslexic individuals, employing a combination of whole-brain voxel- and surface-based morphometry following current recommendations on analysis approaches, coupled with rigorous neuropsychological testing. Whilst controlling for age, sex, total intracranial volume, and performance IQ, we found both decreased GM volume and cortical thickness in the left insula in participants with DD. Moreover, they had decreased GM volume in left superior temporal gyrus, putamen, globus pallidus, and parahippocampal gyrus. Higher GM volumes and cortical thickness in these areas correlated with better reading and phonological skills, deficits of which are pivotal to DD. Crucially, total brain volume did not influence our results, since it did not differ between the groups. Our findings demonstrating abnormalities in brain areas in individuals with DD, which previously were associated with phonological processing, are compatible with the leading hypotheses on the neurocognitive origins of DD.

Figure 1

VBM and SBM group differences (see also Table 3). (A) Grey matter volume anomalies in dyslexia (Controls > Dyslexics). (B) Cortical thickness anomalies in dyslexia (Controls > Dyslexics). N = 45. Statistical maps are thresholded at a cluster-level FWE-corrected p < 0.05 threshold. Mean adjusted cluster grey matter volume and mean adjusted cluster cortical thickness correlations to reading-related skills are shown with scatter plots. Bar plots for mean adjusted grey matter volume and mean cortical thickness in significant clusters (Table 3) are shown: bar = mean, error-bar = standard error of mean, d Cohen’s d, GP globus pallidus, INS insula, PUT putamen, STG superior temporal gyrus.