Innate connectivity patterns drive the development of the visual word form area.
Level 4 - case-series / case-control
Cross-sectional comparative neuroimaging study using neonatal and adult fMRI datasets.
PubMed 33093478 · doi:10.1038/s41598-020-75015-7
What was done
Researchers analyzed resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data from the Human Connectome Project (adults) and the Developing Human Connectome Project (neonates scanned within one week of birth). They evaluated intrinsic functional connectivity between the putative visual word form area (VWFA) and frontotemporal language networks, comparing connectivity profiles against adjacent ventral visual and non-language cortical control regions.
What was found
The abstract reports directional findings without numerical values or effect sizes. Neonates displayed resting-state connectivity patterns similar to adults: (1) language networks were more strongly connected to the putative VWFA than to adjacent ventral visual regions with foveal bias, and (2) the VWFA was more strongly connected to frontotemporal language regions than to cortical areas adjacent to those language networks.
Why it matters
This indicates that the connectivity scaffolding connecting the VWFA to language circuitry is established prior to visual reading experience, suggesting innate connectivity guides subsequent functional specialization of the cortex.
Limits
The abstract provides no sample sizes, effect sizes, or statistical test values. The study uses cross-sectional correlation of resting-state fMRI signals rather than longitudinal tracking of the same neonates as they develop reading abilities, and resting-state functional connectivity does not directly prove structural causality.