Advanced

AJNR - American Journal of Neuroradiology

This Article Figures Only Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via CrossRef Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Fulbright, R. K. Articles by Gore, J. C. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Fulbright, R. K. Articles by Gore, J. C.

American Journal of Neuroradiology 20:1925-1930 (11 1999)
© 1999 American Society of Neuroradiology

ARTICLE

The Cerebellum's Role in Reading: A Functional MR Imaging Study

Robert K. Fulbright^,a, Annette R. Jenner^a, W. Einer Mencl^a, Kenneth R. Pugh^a, Bennett A. Shaywitz^a, Sally E. Shaywitz^a, Stephen J. Frost^a, Pawel Skudlarski^a, R. Todd Constable^a, Cheryl M. Lacadie^a, Karen E. Marchione^a and John C. Gore^a

^a From the Departments of Diagnostic Radiology (R.K.F., P.S., R.T.C., C.M.L., J.C.G.), Pediatrics (K.R.P., B.A.S., S.E.S., K.E.M.), Neurology (B.A.S.), and Applied Physics (J.C.G.), Yale University, and Haskins Laboratories (A.R.J., E.M., K.R.P., S.J.F.), New Haven, CT.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Long considered to have a role limited largely to motor-related functions, the cerebellum has recently been implicated as being involved in both perceptual and cognitive processes. Our purpose was to determine whether cerebellar activation occurs during cognitive tasks that differentially engage the component processes of word identification in reading.

METHODS: Forty-two neurologically normal adults underwent functional MR imaging of the cerebellum with a gradient-echo echo-planar technique while performing tasks designed to study the cognitive processing used in reading. A standard levels-of-processing paradigm was used. Participants were asked to determine whether pairs of words were written in the same case (orthographic processing), whether pairs of words and non-words rhymed with each other, respectively (phonologic assembly), and whether pairs of words belonged to the same category (semantic processing). Composite maps were generated from a general linear model based on a randomization of statistical parametric maps.

RESULTS: During phonologic assembly, cerebellar activation was observed in the middle and posterior aspects of the posterior superior fissure and adjacent simple lobule and semilunar lobule bilaterally and in posterior aspects of the simple lobule, superior semilunar lobule, and inferior semilunar lobule bilaterally. Semantic processing, however, resulted in activation in the deep nuclear region on the right and in the inferior vermis, in addition to posterior areas active in phonologic assembly, including the simple, superior semilunar, and inferior semilunar lobules.

CONCLUSION: The cerebellum is engaged during reading and differentially activates in response to phonologic and semantic tasks. These results indicate that the cerebellum contributes to the cognitive processes integral to reading.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				H. Picard, I. Amado, S. Mouchet-Mages, J.-P. Olie, and M.-O. Krebs The Role of the Cerebellum in Schizophrenia: an Update of Clinical, Cognitive, and Functional Evidences Schizophr Bull, January 1, 2008; 34(1): 155 - 172. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				S. Kouider, S. Dehaene, A. Jobert, and D. Le Bihan Cerebral Bases of Subliminal and Supraliminal Priming during Reading Cereb Cortex, September 1, 2007; 17(9): 2019 - 2029. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				W. E. Brown, S. Eliez, V. Menon, J. M. Rumsey, C. D. White, and A. L. Reiss Preliminary evidence of widespread morphological variations of the brain in dyslexia Neurology, March 27, 2001; 56(6): 781 - 783. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]