Learning to read leads to functional and structural changes in cortical brain areas related to vision and language. Previous evidence suggests that the Visual Word Form Area (VWFA), a region devoted to the recognition of letter strings in literate persons, acts as an interface between both systems. While different studies have performed univariate analyses to study the effects of literacy on brain function, little is known about its impact on whole functional networks, especially when literacy is acquired during adulthood. We investigated functional connectivity in three groups of adults with different literacy status: illiterates, ex-illiterates (i.e., who learned to read during adulthood), and literates (i.e., who learned to read in childhood). We used a data-driven, multivariate whole brain approach (Independent Component Analysis) combined with a region of interest (ROI) analysis in order to explore the functional connectivity of the VWFA with four ICA networks related to vision and language. ICA allowed for the identification of four networks of interest: left fronto-parietal, auditory, medial visual and lateral visual functional networks, plus a control right fronto-parietal network. We explored the effects literacy on the connectivity between the VWFA and these networks, trying furthermore to disentangle the roles of reading proficiency and age of acquisition (i.e., literacy status) in these changes. Results showed that functional connectivity between the VWFA and the left fronto-parietal and lateral visual networks increased and decreased, respectively, with literacy. Moreover, the functional coupling of the VWFA and the auditory network decreased with literacy. This study provides novel insights in the mechanisms of reading acquisition and brain plasticity, putting to light the emergence of the VWFA as a bridge between language and vision. Further studies are required to characterize the interplay of proficiency and age of reading acquisition, and its relevance to models of brain plasticity across lifespan.

中文翻译：

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识字对视觉和语言相关网络功能连接的影响

学习阅读会导致与视觉和语言相关的大脑皮层区域的功能和结构变化。先前的证据表明，视觉词表区 (VWFA) 是一个专门用于识别有文化的人的字符串的区域，它充当两个系统之间的接口。虽然不同的研究已经进行了单变量分析来研究识字对大脑功能的影响，但对其对整个功能网络的影响知之甚少，尤其是在成年期获得识字时。我们调查了三组具有不同识字状态的成年人的功能连接：文盲、文盲（即，在成年期间学会阅读）和文盲（即，在童年时期学会阅读）。我们使用了数据驱动的，多元全脑方法（独立成分分析）结合感兴趣区域（ROI）分析，以探索 VWFA 与四个与视觉和语言相关的 ICA 网络的功能连接。ICA 允许识别四个感兴趣的网络：左额顶叶、听觉、内侧视觉和外侧视觉功能网络，加上控制右额顶叶网络。我们探讨了识字对 VWFA 与这些网络之间的连通性的影响，进一步尝试区分阅读能力和习得年龄（即识字状态）在这些变化中的作用。结果表明，VWFA 与左额顶叶和侧向视觉网络之间的功能连接分别随读写能力增加和减少。而且，VWFA 和听觉网络的功能耦合随读写能力下降。这项研究为阅读习得和大脑可塑性的机制提供了新的见解，揭示了 VWFA 作为语言和视觉之间桥梁的出现。需要进一步的研究来表征阅读能力和年龄之间的相互作用，以及它与整个生命周期大脑可塑性模型的相关性。