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Published in: Brain Structure and Function 3/2022

01-04-2022 | Original Article

The selective contributions of right cerebellar lobules to reading

Authors: Hehui Li, Rebecca A. Marks, Lanfang Liu, Xiaoxia Feng, Manli Zhang, Feng Ai, Yue Gao, Mengyu Tian, Xiujie Yang, Jia Zhang, Hejing Zhong, Li Liu, Xiangzhi Meng, Guosheng Ding

Published in: Brain Structure and Function | Issue 3/2022

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Abstract

The engagement of the cerebellum during reading tasks is not unprecedented. However, it is still unclear which regions in the cerebellum are specifically involved in reading and how the cerebellum processes different languages. With functional magnetic resonance imaging, we compared the cerebellar neural activity in Chinese child learners of English between reading and non-reading tasks to identify functionally specialized areas for reading, and between Chinese characters and English words in a passive viewing paradigm to detect regions sensitive to different scripts. Two posterior subregions of right lobule VI, as well as right lobule VIIIA, demonstrated greater activation to viewing Chinese characters and English words compared to the non-reading tasks. However, we did not find any cerebellar regions that were differentially responsive to Chinese versus English print. Instead, we observed that functional connectivity between the two above-mentioned cerebellar regions (lobules VI and VIIIA) and the left inferior parietal lobule was significantly greater in English reading compared to Chinese reading. Overall, these results indicate that the posterior parts of right lobule VI and the right lobule VIIIA could be reading-specific regions, and deepen our understanding of how the cerebellum contributes to reading.
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Metadata
Title
The selective contributions of right cerebellar lobules to reading
Authors
Hehui Li
Rebecca A. Marks
Lanfang Liu
Xiaoxia Feng
Manli Zhang
Feng Ai
Yue Gao
Mengyu Tian
Xiujie Yang
Jia Zhang
Hejing Zhong
Li Liu
Xiangzhi Meng
Guosheng Ding
Publication date
01-04-2022
Publisher
Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Published in
Brain Structure and Function / Issue 3/2022
Print ISSN: 1863-2653
Electronic ISSN: 1863-2661
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00429-021-02434-1

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