Is a brain pathway linked to how much reading comprehension depends on word recognition?

Details

Skilled reading depends on coordinated neural systems for word recognition, semantic processing, and executive control. Although the structure of white matter tracts involved in reading is well characterized, their functional contributions remain unclear.

The researchers examined whether resting-state functional connectivity of the left uncinate fasciculus—a ventral frontal-temporal white matter tract implicated in semantic processing—modulates the relationship between word recognition and reading comprehension. Fifty-three participants aged 10–14 years, including 29 girls and 24 boys, completed resting-state functional MRI and standardized assessments of word recognition and reading comprehension. The researchers derived functional connectivity between the left uncinate fasciculus and structurally connected gray matter regions, including the anterior and medial temporal lobes and the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex, from correlations in blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) signals at rest.

Regression analyses found that stronger functional connectivity between the uncinate fasciculus and semantic memory and control regions was associated with a weaker dependence of reading comprehension on word recognition skill. The findings suggest that semantic brain systems accessed via the uncinate fasciculus may support flexible meaning-based reading strategies, allowing comprehension to be sustained across varying levels of word recognition. By linking white matter functional connectivity to individual differences in reading performance, the study highlights the importance of semantic pathways in reading development and the value of examining white matter–gray matter interactions in functional brain networks for reading.