A dual DTI approach to analyzing white matter in children with dyslexia

Carter, John C.; Lanham, Diane C.; Cutting, Laurie E.; Clements-Stephens, Amy M.; Chen, Xuejing; Hadzipasic, Muhamed; Kim, Joon; Denckla, Martha B.; Kaufmann, Walter E.

doi:10.1016/j.pscychresns.2008.09.005

« Previous Next »Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging
Volume 172, Issue 3 , Pages 215-219, 30 June 2009

A dual DTI approach to analyzing white matter in children with dyslexia

John C. Carter
- Center for Genetic Disorders of Cognition & Behavior, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD, United States
Diane C. Lanham
- Department of Developmental Cognitive Neurology, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD, United States
Laurie E. Cutting
- Department of Developmental Cognitive Neurology, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD, United States
- Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States
- School of Education, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD and Haskins Laboratories, New Haven, CT, United States
Amy M. Clements-Stephens
- Department of Developmental Cognitive Neurology, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD, United States
Xuejing Chen
- Center for Genetic Disorders of Cognition & Behavior, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD, United States
Muhamed Hadzipasic
- Center for Genetic Disorders of Cognition & Behavior, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD, United States
Joon Kim
- Center for Genetic Disorders of Cognition & Behavior, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD, United States
Martha B. Denckla
- Department of Developmental Cognitive Neurology, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD, United States
- Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States
- Department of Pediatrics, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States
- Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States
Walter E. Kaufmann
- Center for Genetic Disorders of Cognition & Behavior, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD, United States
- Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States
- Department of Pediatrics, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States
- Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States
- Departments of Pathology and Radiology & Radiological Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States
- Corresponding author. Center for Genetic Disorders of Cognition & Behavior, 3901 Greenspring Ave., Baltimore, MD 21211, United States. Tel.: +1 443 923 2789; fax: +1 443 923 7696.

Received 28 December 2007; received in revised form 9 September 2008; accepted 9 September 2008.

Abstract

Using voxel-based (VBA) and region-of-interest (ROI) diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) analyses, we examined white matter (WM) organization in seven children with dyslexia and six age-matched controls. Both methods demonstrated reduced fractional anisotropy (FA) in the left superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF) and abnormal orientation in the right SLF in dyslexics. Application of this complementary dual DTI approach to dyslexia, which included novel analyses of fiber orientation, demonstrates its usefulness for analyzing mild and complex WM abnormalities.

Keywords: Reading disability, Anisotropy, Superior longitudinal fasciculus