Training poor Readers to get better at sounding what they read

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January 21, 2010 - Neurology Today

   Training poor Readers to get better at sounding what they read seems to have an unexpected benefit: a physical change in brain structure and not just function, according to a new study in the Dec. 10 Neuron.

   Scientists from Carnegie Mellon in Pittsburgh, PA, found that the volume of white language was increased following a six-month daily reading program.

   Other studies have used imaging during a specific task to show that discrete areas of the brain are underactive in people with specific cognitive or motor deficits, including poor readers; past research has also shown white matter deficits in poor readers compared to good readers.

   But, said Marcel A. Just, PhD, who conducted the study with Tim A. Keller, PhD: “This is the first evidence for an increase in white matter in response to a remedial behavioral intervention. It provides evidence that repeated cognitive exercises can alter cordial connectivity of the human brain.”

   Dr. Just, professor of psychology at Carnegie Mellon and director of the Center for Cognitive Brain Imaging, said the findings open a window into fixing faulty wiring in other neurological condition.

   Thomas Insel, MD, director of the National Institute of Mental Health, agrees.” The evidence is mounting that the brain is wired to fix itself in so many ways,” he said. “ This elegant study bridges the divide between psychology and biology in showing how the brain responds to a cognitive challenge. This study is on reading, but it is just a matter of time before other scanning studies show the biology of our brain.”