Stanford Pediatric Grand Rounds: Neural Plasticity in Developmental Dyslexia (02.07.20)

Pediatric Grand Rounds: Neural Plasticity in Developmental Dyslexia Jason Yeatman, PhD Assistant Professor of Pediatrics (Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics) Assistant Professor, Graduate School of Education Session Description Literacy is at the foundation of academic success and children with reading disabilities face challenges throughout their schooling. Research on learning disabilities has led to the development of intervention programs to improve reading skills in young, struggling readers. However, two remaining concerns are: (1) the extent to which short-term intervention programs are capable of changing the developmental trajectory of the brain’s reading circuitry; (2) whether individuals differ in terms of the underlying mechanisms causing their reading difficulties and, therefore, benefit from personalized intervention programs. Here I will present new data demonstrating that altering a child’s educational environment through a targeted intervention program can dramatically change the structure of the brain’s white matter connections, the function of relevant brain circuits and, ultimately, their reading skills. These findings underscore the brain’s impressive capacity for plasticity when children are provided with intervention that is tailored to their needs. Education Goals Define the neurobiological underpinnings of reading disability Introduce new methods for measuring plasticity based on quantitative MRI Discuss intervention approaches for developmental dyslexia Demonstrate the impressive capacity for rapid plasticity in the developing brain