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Articles, Behavioral/Cognitive

Glutamate and Choline Levels Predict Individual Differences in Reading Ability in Emergent Readers

Kenneth R. Pugh, Stephen J. Frost, Douglas L. Rothman, Fumiko Hoeft, Stephanie N. Del Tufo, Graeme F. Mason, Peter J. Molfese, W. Einar Mencl, Elena L. Grigorenko, Nicole Landi, Jonathan L. Preston, Leslie Jacobsen, Mark S. Seidenberg and Robert K. Fulbright
Journal of Neuroscience 12 March 2014, 34 (11) 4082-4089; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.3907-13.2014
Kenneth R. Pugh
1Haskins Laboratories, New Haven, Connecticut 06511,
2Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut 06520-8042,
3Department of Psychology, University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut 06269-1020,
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Stephen J. Frost
1Haskins Laboratories, New Haven, Connecticut 06511,
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Douglas L. Rothman
2Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut 06520-8042,
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Fumiko Hoeft
1Haskins Laboratories, New Haven, Connecticut 06511,
4Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California 94143-0984,
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Stephanie N. Del Tufo
1Haskins Laboratories, New Haven, Connecticut 06511,
3Department of Psychology, University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut 06269-1020,
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Graeme F. Mason
2Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut 06520-8042,
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Peter J. Molfese
1Haskins Laboratories, New Haven, Connecticut 06511,
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W. Einar Mencl
1Haskins Laboratories, New Haven, Connecticut 06511,
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Elena L. Grigorenko
1Haskins Laboratories, New Haven, Connecticut 06511,
5Yale University Child Study Center, New Haven, Connecticut 06520,
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Nicole Landi
1Haskins Laboratories, New Haven, Connecticut 06511,
3Department of Psychology, University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut 06269-1020,
5Yale University Child Study Center, New Haven, Connecticut 06520,
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Jonathan L. Preston
1Haskins Laboratories, New Haven, Connecticut 06511,
6Department of Communication Disorders, Southern Connecticut State University, New Haven, Connecticut 06515, and
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Leslie Jacobsen
1Haskins Laboratories, New Haven, Connecticut 06511,
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Mark S. Seidenberg
1Haskins Laboratories, New Haven, Connecticut 06511,
7Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin Madison, Madison, Wisconsin 53706-1611
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Robert K. Fulbright
1Haskins Laboratories, New Haven, Connecticut 06511,
2Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut 06520-8042,
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Abstract

Reading disability is a brain-based difficulty in acquiring fluent reading skills that affects significant numbers of children. Although neuroanatomical and neurofunctional networks involved in typical and atypical reading are increasingly well characterized, the underlying neurochemical bases of individual differences in reading development are virtually unknown. The current study is the first to examine neurochemistry in children during the critical period in which the neurocircuits that support skilled reading are still developing. In a longitudinal pediatric sample of emergent readers whose reading indicators range on a continuum from impaired to superior, we examined the relationship between individual differences in reading and reading-related skills and concentrations of neurometabolites measured using magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Both continuous and group analyses revealed that choline and glutamate concentrations were negatively correlated with reading and related linguistic measures in phonology and vocabulary (such that higher concentrations were associated with poorer performance). Correlations with behavioral scores obtained 24 months later reveal stability for the relationship between glutamate and reading performance. Implications for neurodevelopmental models of reading and reading disability are discussed, including possible links of choline and glutamate to white matter anomalies and hyperexcitability. These findings point to new directions for research on gene-brain-behavior pathways in human studies of reading disability.

  • decoding
  • individual differences
  • MRS
  • phonological processing
  • reading
  • reading disability
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The Journal of Neuroscience: 34 (11)
Journal of Neuroscience
Vol. 34, Issue 11
12 Mar 2014
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Glutamate and Choline Levels Predict Individual Differences in Reading Ability in Emergent Readers
Kenneth R. Pugh, Stephen J. Frost, Douglas L. Rothman, Fumiko Hoeft, Stephanie N. Del Tufo, Graeme F. Mason, Peter J. Molfese, W. Einar Mencl, Elena L. Grigorenko, Nicole Landi, Jonathan L. Preston, Leslie Jacobsen, Mark S. Seidenberg, Robert K. Fulbright
Journal of Neuroscience 12 March 2014, 34 (11) 4082-4089; DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.3907-13.2014

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Glutamate and Choline Levels Predict Individual Differences in Reading Ability in Emergent Readers
Kenneth R. Pugh, Stephen J. Frost, Douglas L. Rothman, Fumiko Hoeft, Stephanie N. Del Tufo, Graeme F. Mason, Peter J. Molfese, W. Einar Mencl, Elena L. Grigorenko, Nicole Landi, Jonathan L. Preston, Leslie Jacobsen, Mark S. Seidenberg, Robert K. Fulbright
Journal of Neuroscience 12 March 2014, 34 (11) 4082-4089; DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.3907-13.2014
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Keywords

  • decoding
  • individual differences
  • MRS
  • phonological processing
  • reading
  • reading disability

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